Mark Inflation and Compression
Mark Inflation: High pass rates and a large number of students achieving high marks suggest marks are often inflated.
Mark Compression: Many students score within a narrow high range, making it difficult to distinguish levels of performance.
These practices diminish the reliability of marks, impacting students' readiness for higher education and employment.
The perception of inflated marks fuels demand for competitive entrance exams to better assess student capabilities.
Variations Across Boards
National pass percentages are high (85% for class 10, 82% for class 12), indicating potential mark inflation.
The percentage of students scoring above 60% varies widely among boards.
Regional Disparities: States like Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh show lower percentages of high scorers compared to others.
Variability in grading standards and marking practices across the 42 different boards
There is no standardized scale to compare student performance across boards, which complicates the assessment of educational quality.
Comparison with Other Countries
Mark inflation is not unique to India; many countries experience similar issues with grading.
National-level tests (e.g., NEET, JEE) are used to offset mark inflation but primarily serve as selection tools rather than educational benchmarks.
Internationally, standardized tests are used to benchmark student performance.
However, these tests often do not align perfectly with local curricula or address all grading discrepancies.
National standardized tests (e.g., NCERT’s National Achievement Survey) aim to provide a consistent measure of student performance but may not fully address grading disparities.
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