CONTINUOUS COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION.

CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation)  in order to improve the student's performance by identifying his/her learning difficulties at regular intervals, right from the beginning of the academic session and employing suitable remedial measures for enhancing their learning performance.

Advantages of CCE as claimed by CBSE :
1. Stress : This is the TRP of the CCE. All the talks regarding CCE start and end with this single agenda. CBSE claims that CCE reduces the stress on students by:

• Identifying learning progress of students at regular time intervals on small portions of content.
• Encouraging learning through employment of a variety of teaching aids and techniques.
• Employing a variety of remedial measures of teaching based on learning needs and potential of different students.
• Recognizing and encouraging specific abilities of students, who do not excel in academics but perform well in other co-curricular areas.

2. Overall Personality Development :  Multi-tasking is the call of the 21st century. The regular monitoring of the student will eventually help in the proper grooming of the student and will help him realize his strengths and weaknesses in multiple fields. Overcoming the weaknesses will in turn help him develop his aptitude in multiple areas.

3. Generating Interest : The increased emphasis on sports and co-curricular activities will help in creating interest among students. Group activities and stage performances will build up their confidence which will eventually help them in future (probably during group discussions and interviews). In short, it is an attempt to merge fun with studies.

4. De-emphasize memorization : The examinations under CCE pattern are so designed  that they in a way compel students to understand the concepts rather than mugging them up. The need of the hour is to make students realize the power of thinking and help them to develop a thought process. CCE plans on doing exactly that.

5. Learner-centered activity : Till now, the teaching and learning were dependent mostly on teachers and the available curriculum. Any deviation from the curriculum and syllabus was considered as sin. CCE encourages teaching and learning to be a 'learner centered activity' i.e. students' interest and choice is given the priority (only in deciding the subjects).

6. Flexibility : The CCE pattern allows different schools and in turn teachers the freedom to conduct the tests in their own way. The only requirement is that the teachers should follow the CCE guidelines.

Pattern of education:
The old pattern of deciding the fate of a student by the single exam at the end of academic year has been scraped off. The CCE pattern ensures several tests are conducted throughout the year, both written and orals. There are two different types of tests:
A. Formative Assessment : Conducted 4 times a year, they carry 40% weightage for the aggregate and comprise of the student's work at class and home, the student's performance in oral tests and quizzes and the quality of the projects or assignments submitted by the child.

B. Summative Assessment: It is a 3 hour long test, conducted twice a year. (Somewhat similar to old pattern of half-yearly and finals). Each summative is conducted after 2 formatives and each carry a weightage of 30%. The syllabus of first summative is not repeated in second summative (somewhat like semester pattern).

The percentage so obtained by a student are then converted into CGPA and then grades are deduced.

Enough of what CBSE thought and implemented. Now, my views:

Do you believe that activity based learning can help Indian student?
I see no good reason to believe otherwise. Firstly, Indian students are no different than students from other countries. It is the grooming in schools and colleges, the education system and mostly the social values that are responsible for a student's personality. Being Indian has nothing to do with it.

Activity based learning, in my humble opinion, is one of the best ways to encourage a student to THINK (and not memorize). For example, during my school days in a city like Pune, we were never taken to any science exhibition or history exhibitions even though IUCAA (Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics) had an open invitation and Deccan College (The Mecca for Indian Archaeologists) was at 5 minutes from my school. Our education pattern does not encourage us to think and create, but to follow and duplicate. Activity based learning is an answer to that problem. However, the standard of students should be considered. One cannot expect a Class-I student to make a windmill (until and unless he is a child prodigy or Richard Feynman).

Do you think changes should be made in CCE?
Of course. The whole grading system for class IX and X is acting like a carcinogenic element. It is degrading the very quality of student that CCE aspires to achieve. The biggest disadvantage is for the students who wish to change from CBSE to State Board because State Board has marks and percentage system and they do not recognize a student with 92% and a student with 98% as same.

Secondly, CCE is trying to defy the world known fact that competition improves quality. The grading system is unfair to those who have fared well throughout the year. This may lead to disappointment and may eventually result in top-graders putting less efforts.

How has it affected students' life? 
To be honest, it is too soon to predict anything. However, it has affected the life of teachers more than that of students. In one of my own teacher's words, "Now, I am constantly at work. Earlier I knew that I don't have to give much attention to bright students, but now I am forced to evaluate each one of them, every now and then. There is nothing challenging for bright students and teachers are doing nothing but the donkey work. I am now nothing but just a medium who conducts tests. Soon, I will be replaced by a computer, which will issue guidelines. Students will do projects and give tests online and that would mark the end of classroom teaching." And, I believe that day is not far enough.