CBSE planning to initiate a 'Problem Solving Assessment

Updated on: Monday, August 13, 2012

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is planning to initiate a 'Problem Solving Assessment' (CBSEPSA ) for students of classes IX and XI from the second term of the 2012-13 session.

Although there is no specific syllabus for CBSE-PSA , it will assess students in the following areas — quantitative reasoning, qualitative reasoning and language conventions.

CBSE-PSA, which will be compulsory for students of classes IX and XI, is likely to be conducted during the month of January-February 2013 and carry 90 marks. There will be 60 questions of MCQ type.

According to Vineet Joshi, chairman, CBSE, it is a widely acknowledged fact that research and analytical skills, ability to apply basic concepts of different subjects, solve application-based problems in mathematics and science , comprehend and analyse written text and effective communication are the skills, which ensure success in higher studies and professional areas.

He says, "These dimensions of 21century life-skills will assist learners in acquiring higher order thinking skills such as problem solving and decision-making . There will be no separate time-tables or periods for teaching or practising PSA in schools." The questions asked in the test will incorporate aspects like creative-thinking , decision-making , critical thinking , problem-solving , and communication that lead to success at secondary stage. "These questions would be assessing students' ability to process, interpret and use information rather than assessing students' prior subject matter knowledge," informs Joshi.

Questions in CBSE-PSA are going to be designed in such a way so that they improve the generic and higher order thinking skills. This will also result in improving scores within the core school subjects . The test will also assess students' language skills like grammar, usage, vocabulary in context and passage-completion.

While students of class XI will get a certificate on CBSE-PSA , for class IX students, CBSE-PSA will be counted towards final assessment (FA), which is 10% of total assessments of class IX. This assessment will also be carried forward towards the FA in class X. This score will be reflected in one language (English or Hindi), maths, science and social science.

Joshi says that students will also have the option to improve their PSA score in class X, as they can take the test with class IX students of the session 2013-2014 in January-February 2014. The best scores will be reflected in the final certificate in case of those applying for improvement.

Registration for this assessment will be done separately by the board and a detailed circular will be issued before the start of the second term i.e. September 2012.

CBSE planning to initiate a 'Problem Solving Assessment

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