The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) is set to introduce an 80-mark written examination for Class 12, with the remaining 20 marks to be awarded through practical examinations and internal assessment.
The change, being planned from the next academic session, will initially be introduced for Class 11 and subsequently extended to Class 12. The revised assessment pattern has been developed in line with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, National Curriculum Framework (NCF)-2023 and recommendations of the National Assessment Centre ((Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development or PARAKH), confirmed officials.
At present, practical subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology and home science have a 70-mark written examination and a 30-mark practical component. In non-practical subjects such as Hindi, English, Sanskrit and economics, students currently appear for a 100-mark written examination.
Under the proposed system, non-practical subjects will also have an 80-mark written paper and a 20-mark internal assessment component. For practical subjects, the practical component will also be reduced from 30 to 20 marks.
The State Institute of Education (SIE) and other institutions have prepared sample question papers for classes 11 and 12 in history, geography, economics and civics. The revised papers will place the highest emphasis on application-based questions, which will account for 35% of the marks, as recommended by PARAKH.
{{/usCountry}}The State Institute of Education (SIE) and other institutions have prepared sample question papers for classes 11 and 12 in history, geography, economics and civics. The revised papers will place the highest emphasis on application-based questions, which will account for 35% of the marks, as recommended by PARAKH.
{{/usCountry}}Principal, State Institute of Education (SIE)-Prayagraj Rajendra Pratap said the revised papers had been designed to maintain a balance between the objectives, question types, difficulty levels and topics.
“The questions have been framed in a way that students answer them through understanding and application in daily life rather than rote learning. The objective is to develop thinking, critical thinking and problem-solving skills among students,” he said.
Earlier, UP Board papers assessed students on four parameters—knowledge (20%), understanding (30%), application (30%) and skills (20%). Under the new framework, assessment will cover six parameters: knowledge (17.5%), understanding (17.5%), application (35%), analysis (22%), evaluation (4%) and creation (4%).
Another major change is that questions from every unit will be mandatory. The weightage of each unit has been fixed, while external choices between questions have been removed, making it necessary for students to study the entire syllabus.
The number of descriptive questions has also been reduced. In long-answer questions, internal choices will be provided, but the alternatives will be from the same unit and will have the same objective and difficulty level.