Indian education board CBSE considers open book examination for classes 9-12: Report

Indian education board - the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) - is considering the format of open book examination for students of classes 9-12, The Indian Express reported on Thursday (Feb 22), citing sources. According to the report, the sources said that the CBSE has proposed a pilot run of open-book examinations in a few schools.

For classes 9 and 10, students will take such an exam in the subjects of English, Mathematics and Science. For classes 11 and 12, the subjects chosen for the examination are English, Mathematics and Biology, the report said.

This pilot run has been proposed to be conducted in Nov-Dec this year. The CBSE would evaluate the time taken by students to complete such exams and also the stakeholders' response. The Indian Express report further said that the pilot run would focus on assessing elements such as higher-order thinking skills, application and analysis.

What is open open-book examination?

An open-book examination allows students to refer to textbooks, class notes and other study material when they appear for an exam. Now it seems that an open book exam is easier than a closed book one as students can directly look at their study material and answer the questions.

However, it is not. According to Cornell University, an open-book exam can often be harder than a closed-book one. An open-book exam would require students to use higher levels of thinking.

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"...you won’t just be asked about facts or to recall. Instead, you will be asked to compare, analyse, evaluate, or synthesize information. These ways of demonstrating your knowledge are more challenging than just spitting back facts and require that you deeply know the material and are able to see connections," Cornell University states.

In India, the CBSE's proposal for open book examination comes nearly four years after the Delhi University (DU) introduced this format in Aug 2020 during the Covid pandemic. The DU's move was opposed by students.

And now, the CBSE would be consulting the DU for this exam format.

(With inputs from agencies)