Mark Inflation in Indian School Board Examinations

Source-This post on Mark Inflation in Indian School Board Examinations has been created based on the article “The annual accusation of board exam mark inflation” published in “The Hindu” on 24 August 2024.

UPSC Syllabus–GS Paper-2– issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education,

Context -School boards in India are often accused of inflating marks for classes 10 and 12, mainly due to high pass percentages. In 2023, the pass rate was 85% for class 10 and 82% for class 12, with 61% of class 10 students and 56% of class 12 students scoring over 60%. This high concentration of high marks, known as mark compression, accompanies mark inflation.

What are the issues with Mark inflation and mark compression?

1) It damages the credibility of the education system and hurts students’ prospects.

2) Students might not be adequately prepared for higher education or employment, leading to increased demand for entrance exams as a solution to these problems.

What are the steps taken to address this?

1) Marks from school board exams are often compared with national tests to check for inflation. In India, exams like NEET, JEE, and CUET are used for this comparison.

2)  The National Achievement Survey (NAS), conducted by NCERT, assesses students in classes 10 and below using ‘Item Response Theory’ to estimate scores in subjects like English, Math, Science, Social Science, and a regional language.

Read More- Findings of National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021

What are the limitations of these comparisons and surveys?

1) Tests– These tests are mainly for admissions and do not fully cover the school board curriculum. Many students get extra coaching to excel in these tests, making them unreliable for comparing educational standards across states.

2) NAS Survey- It does not cover classes 11 and 12 or link scores to curriculum design and school efficiency, making it an ineffective benchmark for detecting mark inflation or compression.

What should be the way forward?

1) Automated Question Paper Setting-Question papers should be automated with clear guidelines to ensure consistency in question formats and expected answers.

2) Publication of Guidebooks– Guidebooks should be provided to students, showing how learning outcomes are assessed and how marks are awarded, with examples included.

3) Codification of Processes– The process from setting question papers to publishing results should be clearly defined and include detailed steps for printing, distributing, and collecting answer scripts, with regular self-checks to ensure accuracy.

4) Partial Automation of Valuation– Using partial automation, like scanning and online grading, can reduce errors in marking.

5) Access and Revaluation– Students should have free access to their answer scripts post-results and the option to apply for revaluation at a nominal fee.

6) Transparent Awarding of Marks– The process for awarding marks on difficult or irrelevant questions should be clear. The board of examiners should publish meeting minutes to explain question paper quality, difficulty levels, and marking decisions

7) Standardized Scores– Results should be shown in two ways: the actual marks and standardized scores. Standardized scores, which use statistical methods to account for mark distribution and question difficulty, offer a more accurate comparison of student performance across different boards and years.

Question for practice

What are the issues of mark inflation and compression, and what steps have been taken to address them? What are the limitations of current comparisons and surveys, and what should be the way forward?

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