It's raining toppers, thanks to CBSE generosity

The Central Board of Secondary Education Class 10 results declared on Tuesday indicate that students who got the highest marks are the most in number.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 results declared on Tuesday indicate that students who got the highest marks are the most in number.

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According to the board, out of over 1.3 million students registered in Class 10 for the 2013-14 academic year, 76,900 got a 10 cumulative grade point average (the highest).

Read: Girls outshine boys in Class 10 CBSE exams

CGPA is the average of grade points obtained in all the subjects, excluding the additional sixth subject. A 10 CGPA (A1 grade) would represent 95% marks.

"One would think that the maximum number of students would get average marks, say in the 70s or 80s. The current trend is because of the lenient marking schemes and every school’s effort to get the most number of students with a 10 CGPA," said the principal of a central Delhi school on condition of anonymity.

Out of the 31 possible categories, the second most populous one was the 6.6 CGPA.

The Delhi, Guwahati and Allahabad regions are the only ones out of 10 territories that have bucked this trend.

Compulsory board examinations were done away with three years ago, and CBSE now follows the CGPA system. A majority of students opt for assessment through the in-house Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) process, while a few others sit for board exams.

When students reach Class 12, however, the number of those scoring 95% and above comes down drastically. Last year, 7,231 students managed this feat. Compare that with those getting a 10 CGPA in Class 10 and it is clear that less than 10% are able to do the same in a higher class.