Board examination

In India, board examinations refer to the public examinations that are conducted at the completion of secondary and senior secondary education.

The 10th Grade board examinations are conducted by the state board (SSC/SSLC), the Central Board of Secondary Education (All India Secondary School Examination) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE). 10th Grade board exams are important for the continuation of senior secondary education. On completion of the 10th Grade board exam, students are enabled to choose a singular ‘stream’ of subjects such as science, commerce and arts (humanities) to study at the senior secondary level.

The 12th Grade board examinations are conducted by the state board (HSC), the Central Board of Secondary Education (AISSCE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ISC). The scores achieved in the 12th Grade board exams are considered very important for receiving admission into major professional courses, training programmes or institutes of national importance such as AIIMS, NIT, IIT, IIIT and IIM through competitive examinations like JEE, NEET, CLAT, CUET and various entrance tests conducted by various universities in India.

Due to the implementation of NEP 2020, board exams are planned to be conducted twice a year, from the academic year 2024–25 onwards. The ‘multiple board’ format was previously conducted in the academic year 2021–22.

State Board Examinations
State board examinations are variously referred to as Madhyamik, Secondary State Certificate and Higher Secondary Certificate examinations. They are conducted and managed by education boards of different states in the country. They do not take place simultaneously due to the differences between syllabi and the examination itself. The examinations generally held in the months of February and March, and the results are out in April and May.

Students have to apply for the examinations in November stating their personal details, subjects, and current educational status. The Datesheet for examination are given between 40-60 Days before the Start of exam. Admit cards for the prescribed examination hall are received at the notified cell or their respective schools about 20–25 days prior to the commencement of the exam.

Examinations are offered for various fields. Class 10th students give exam in five core subjects which are English, Hindi/other languages of India (regional), Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.(If it is state board then Compulsory State language is taken )There is an option of choosing a sixth subject of your choice like Computer Science, Information Technology, Music, Fine Arts, Physical Education, Foreign Languages etc. Class 12th students have to choose one out of the three streams offered in schools which are Science, Commerce, and Humanities.

Science stream focuses on natural sciences and mathematics. The main subjects of this stream are English, Physics and Chemistry while students have to choose either Biology or Mathematics or both. Schools offer vocational subjects such as Computer science, Information technology, artificial intelligence, food nutrition and dietetics, biotechnology, Web Application etc.. In Commerce stream, students are prepared for business, management, administration, trade and banking. The main subjects of this stream are English, Accountancy, Economics and Business Studies. Vocational subjects like Marketing, Retail, Taxation, Banking, Entrepreneurship, Mathematics, Computer Science etc...are offers by schools.

In Humanities, students study social sciences and liberal arts. The main subjects of this stream are English, History, Geography, Political Science and Economics (any 2/3 or all the 5 subjects depending upon the school). Schools offer vocational subjects such as Mass Media, Fashion Studies, Legal Studies, Psychology, Tourism, Beauty and Wellness, Home Science, Food nutrition and dietetics, Fine Arts, Sociology, and Philosophy.

Schools also offer Hindi as a subject. Some have kept Hindi as a compulsory subject while some have kept it optional. Some schools do not offer it.

Subjects like Business Administration, Economics, Music, Fine Arts, Physical Education, National Cadets Corps, Geography, Computer Science, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Foreign languages are offered in all three streams.

The exam is conducted only in pen and paper format.

CBSE Exam
Each of the examinations takes place simultaneously across the country, to ensure that questions are not leaked in advance across time zones. Security is usually high for these board examination.

The 2024 CBSE board examination for Class 10 were held from 15 February till 11 March and from 15 February till 2 April for class 12. The usual starting time for each exam was 10:30 am but depending on the length and/or maximum marks for the subject, the finishing time was either 12:30 pm (2 hours, shorter exams, usually 40-50 marks) or 1:30 pm (3 hours, long exams, usually 70-80 marks).

The question papers are distributed by the overseeing board of education, and their contents are guarded closely until the exam begins. The examinations may include multiple sets of question papers as well. The candidates are issued identification passes in advance, which are presented to the staff at the examination site. The site itself must not be the same school where a candidate studies to ensure impartiality, the candidate must travel to a different school (either by self, or in some cases the school provides transportation) to take the examination. For the same reason, the candidate may not identify himself/herself on the answer sheet except with an identity-masking number. Use of calculation aids other than logarithm tables, which are provided by the examination centre, is prohibited. Delhi High Court has directed CBSE to follow moderation policy in May 2017 due to which the results were delayed.

The answer sheets are sent back to the board of education overseeing the certifications. The CBSE board has Seventeen regional offices for different states where the correction would occur. All foreign papers are sent to the Delhi East Regional office of the NCT(National Capital Territory) of India which is in New Government of India have planned to set up New Regional office in Dubai, UAE to cater the needs of NRI and Indians living in UAE with the Help from Government of United Arab Emirates. Papers are evaluated based on examples of ideal answers key. A false roll no. is attached to the answer-sheet before evaluation. Once the answers have been evaluated, the identity numbers are matched to the actual roll no. (and identity) of the candidate. This is so that no bias takes place on part of the examiner regarding the background, name, appearance, religion or community of the candidate.

The board then issues an official grade/score report for the exam to the candidate, as well as a certificate of completion in the case of the HSC exam. Students only see their final grades and do not receive their graded answer sheets. The students can however opt to receive their graded answer sheets only after paying a small sum. Additionally the student can also opt for re-evaluation after paying another amount.

The results can be obtained in person or online. The CBSE site often crashes on the day the results are released.

The Class 10th and 12th of batch 2023-24 result was declared on 13 May for 2024 CBSE board exam.

CISCE
The ICSE Council was established in 1958 by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate to ensure that its examinations become adapted to the educational needs of the country and assign the ultimate control of the same on the council. The council was registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 on 19 December 1967. The object of the council is educational, and includes the promotion of science, literature, the fine arts and the diffusion of useful knowledge by conducting school examinations through the medium of English. The Council exists solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit.