National Institute of Online Schooling has announced the assessment criteria for Class 10 and 12 students for the academic session 2020-21. These alternate evaluation criteria are created to assess students due to cancellation of board exams. These criteria has been published on the official website nios.ac.in. Accordingly, marks for Class 10 and 12 students shall be tabulated based on past performance and Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs).
Previously, NIOS cancelled the Class 10 and 12 boards exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting the exams under such circumstances would have been risky and impractical. Instead, students would be evaluated based on “well-defined objective criteria” in a “time-bound manner”, as also decided by CBSE. Learners who are not satisfied with this evaluation can appear in the next public exams or On-Demand Examination (ODE). These shall be held when the situation is conducive.
The NIOS 2020-21 assessment scheme comprises of four important broad parameters. The first parameter covers students who have successfully passed in 4 or more subjects. For such students, best three out of four past subjects will be considered in both theory and practical.
The second parameter covers students who have passed in 2 or 3 subjects. Such students will be evaluated in the past best two subjects in both theory and practical. Their results will be computed accordingly. The third parameter will be applicable for students who have passed only in one subject. Along with this, their TMA may or may not be applicable. For such students, results will be curated based on the performance in last three public exams conducted by NIOS in the same course. This will be done in case of both practical and theory assessment.
The last category covers students who were to appear for NIOS exams for the first time without any past performance. Students who have passed only in one subject with or without TMA will also be included in this category. Such students shall be evaluated based on the internal assessment marks submitted to the NIOS. Since these students have no past performance records, they are kept in a separate category for evaluation convenience.
The fourth category candidates have different evaluation scheme based on the class in which they are studying. Class 12 students will be evaluated based on a formula adopted by the organisation. This formula is –
(Mean of maximum theory marks and minimum pass marks) x (TMA ratio)
Here, the TMA ratio = Marks obtained in TMA/Total TMA marks in a subject
In case of subjects with practical, the practical marks will be calculated based on a similar formula –
(Mean of maximum practical marks and minimum practical pass marks) x (TMA ratio)
In case of Class 10 students, the result for each subject will be done based on a different formula curated by the NIOS. Accordingly.
Marks obtained = (Mean of maximum and minimum pass marks) x TMA ratio.
This formula will be used for each subject wherein the total marks will include both theory and practical marks. Using this formula, marks will proportionately be determined for theory and practical evaluation, separately. Once the results are out, students who already passed the subject(s) and wish to improve their scores can appear for the next exam later. The exam schedule for the same shall be released soon by the NIOS authorities. For such students, results will not be computed as per the decided assessment scheme.