Should entrance tests replace boards?

Originally posted by: seoulbeats

Sky rocketing cut-offs have left students and parents bewildered.

  While you make study hard and secure even a 95 percent, it wouldn't guarantee you a seat in the top college of the country.

A sort of saturation point has been reached when most of the people are just waiting to see what cut-off will the to colleges keep.

Shri Ram College of Commerce, the best college in our country according to India Times Survey, declared a 100 % cut-off last year. While this year they chose a different formula to calculate cut-offs the fact still remains- till what extent will they stretch cut-offs?

A plausible solution could be to replace the existing system of Board examination with the entrance test but then some feel that the importance of Board Exams will be undermined and students will become lethargic and laid back.

So what do you think? Entrance tests or Boards? 

Originally posted by: Heart

At one point all of it is so extremely frustrating and confusing, you don't know what to do! Just imagine studying for two totally different things which you can not manage. Plus the cut off marks now days are not below 80 for other subjects while it is 95 for science! That puts a lot of pressure on a student. 

Now that CBSE board has given options to the schools that they cant opt out of board exams, I think same should be one for 12th for all the boards so that a student can focus on entrance exams. 

If not that. at least both the boards and entrance should have at least same or similar syllabus so that it does not much so much load on a student. 

Originally posted by: zorrro

Thanks to Kapil Sibals experimental policies now the students have it too easy in class X (to cut down the stress and suicide rates) and then suddenly the burden is increased manifold in XII boards with several coaching classes, class tests, mock tests, entrance exams AND the boards. The students appearing in engineering entrance exams will have to do reasonably well in borads too as 40% weightage would be given to scores in board exam. The medical aspirants too may have to face the same fate in a yera or two.

Sibal had also proposed something of a open -book exam for XIIth. I am not sure I understood that properly 😕

Originally posted by: seoulbeats

There is just a lot of hype surrounding boards and both parents and students feel the pressure of the same. In truth the papers in boards are much more simpler and the checking of these is more lenient. This leniency in checking board papers has resulted in an enormous increase in number of students securing high marks and this inevitably leads to jump in cut-offs.

When new system of CCE was introduced a lot of controversy surrounded it.It was easier than ever to secure good grades. When the results of the class tenth board examination was announced last year I was shocked to see just how many people scored a perfect ten CGPA. But even more shocking was the news of the children who barely managed to pass the class eleventh examination even though they secured a perfect 10 in their tenth boards.

Is that the kind of education system we want?

I think not.

If ever we do scrape off system of Boards and take up entrance instead I think we'll have a more fair chance to get a college of our choice. But then again, that's a huge if...

Originally posted by: Heart

True, board exams are much simpler compared to the competitive exams but can you imagine the amount of time a student spends preparing for board exams, when he or she can spend this time for entrance exams? At a certain point it seems like a waste, don't you think? It is like an extra burden. 

No, if after the 12th exams we do get a different pattern for the entrance exam that's fine.Students in medical and engineering field already juggle both so why can't everyone else do it? I don't think that students are overburdened at all.Our peers gave the entrance exams after boards and they managed just fine so why not us as well?

Firstly, I think the purpose of the education system is to educate the child and not force the child to commit suicide.

Exactly my point. The purpose of education system is to educate and not make students lethargic, complacent and stupid. You underestimate the ability of students if you think that they can't handle pressure. In the end we have to take some amount of stress at one point or the other. 

We can't scrape off all examinations and entrance test in the name of stress.

So would it be better to slowly increase the level of difficulty the student faces in every class or would it be better if we just make the student face tough papers one fine day without previous training to handle stress?

 So the system definitely helped in reducing the stress levels for the students. It should be actually applied for 12th grade too, where it is really needed. 

I disagree.

Secondly, the system in India is such that when you get from 10th to 11th you suddenly are overburdened with enormous books and tremendous pressure that at first everyone finds difficult to cope up with, no matter how perfect their CGPA is. I remember looking at my Physics books in 11th and wondering "how am I ever going to survive this?". It is really hard at first, so I would not be surprised if the students fail in the 11th exams. Boards and entrance is were it actually counts. 

@Bold- You said it.

Yes, exactly. There is a huge question mark there. At least what they can do is make the syllabus similar for the two exams so that it is a little more bearable, and the students on have to waste so much money at the coaching classes every year. 

Originally posted by: seoulbeats