Stumped by spike in high scorers, CBSE asks schools to rework numbers

The CBSE board is faced with a unique problem this year: A sudden spike in high achievers. After the board’s software pored over the data submitted by schools, it recently found the count of candidates with 95%-plus scores had zoomed way above the previous years’ numbers.

The CBSE board was thus forced to reject a lot of the data; it has asked schools to rework their numbers, scale down the results and re-submit them by July 25. Little wonder then that Class X results are likely to witness a delay.


Earlier, schools across India were to submit the data by June 30, the deadline for which was extended to July 5.

“After that, we noticed that some schools had not followed instructions given to them for preparing the results based on the historical data. Also, some schools committed mistakes in uploading their data; marks of practicals were not uploaded. Additionally, some schools have not yet submitted their data at all,” CBSE examination head Sanyam Bhardwaj told TOI.

There are two options in the CBSE results software: One, to upload the results data, and two, to submit the same after finalisation. “Most schools have uploaded the data, but have not submitted the same yet. So, the board assumes that they are yet to finalise the same,” said a source from the board.

In Mumbai, some schools run by coaching classes and some popular chains of institutes were all pulled up for “inflated” scores.

The CBSE policy is thus: Schools were asked to pick a reference year out of the past three (2018, 2019 and 2020) and stay in line with that performance. So, if a school picked 2018, when its performance was the most robust, results of 2021 had to be similar. If five students scored above 95%, then this time too, only five ought to be placed in the 95%-plus category, and so on and so forth. In case of new schools with no past reference to go by, the school and subject mean was to be in line with the national, state and district data.

“However, if a school in the reference year picked by them had two students with 95% or more, then this time they have four or five. Hence, we have asked them to streamline their results,” added Bharadwaj.

Schools that increased their class strength faced difficulty in staying within the reference year’s score range.

“We could look at bunching scores as per the percentage rise in student numbers, but in our case this batch genuinely did well and we found it very difficult to work the data,” said the principal of a CBSE school. “Most schools give 18 or 19 of 20 in internals. In the case of theory then, students got 77 or 76 and the total scores went beyond 95%. We had to scale that down and we did so, but it was a rather difficult task,” said another.

A CBSE coordinator said several schools contacted his office as they were in a fix about streamlining their scores with the previous years. “When principals and teachers are empowered, they must be judicious and fair in their marking,” he said.