In a groundbreaking move, the Telangana State Board of Secondary Education (TSBSE) has announced that starting from the upcoming SSC examination, students will receive both marks and grades as part of their results. This change has been introduced to promote a more balanced approach to student evaluation, taking into account both quantitative and qualitative aspects of academic performance. This decision is expected to bring about a significant shift in how student achievements are viewed and how their academic journeys are assessed.
Historically, the education system in Telangana has largely relied on marks as the sole indicator of a student’s performance. While marks have served as an important benchmark, the new policy aims to provide a more rounded evaluation by adding a grading system that reflects the student’s overall progress, knowledge acquisition, and understanding of various subjects.
The Need for Change:
The introduction of both marks and grades is being seen as a response to concerns that the current system overly emphasizes numerical scores, which may not always reflect the true extent of a student’s abilities. While marks are undoubtedly important, they often fail to capture a student’s development in areas such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. By implementing a grading system alongside marks, the Telangana Board hopes to create a more holistic assessment framework that will not only measure how well students perform in exams but also acknowledge the effort, learning process, and conceptual understanding that they have gained over the course of their studies.
Another key reason for the introduction of grades is to address the immense pressure students face in achieving high marks. In the existing system, the competitive nature of exams often results in students becoming fixated on achieving the highest possible scores, even at the cost of their mental health and well-being. The grading system will mitigate this pressure by offering a broader range of performance categories, where students can be assessed based on their overall abilities rather than narrowly focusing on raw marks.
How the Marks and Grades System Will Work:
Under the new system, students will receive both numerical marks and a corresponding grade for each subject. The grading scale will categorize students into several levels, such as A+, A, B, and C, with each grade representing a specific range of marks. For instance, an ‘A+’ grade could correspond to scores between 90-100%, while an ‘A’ grade may cover scores between 80-89%, and so on.
The aim is to provide students with clear feedback on where they stand academically while also reducing the focus on minute differences in scores. For example, a student who scores 92% will not be ranked against another student who scores 95%, but both will be classified under the same grade (A+). This system reduces the risk of unhealthy comparisons and encourages students to focus on improving their learning rather than stressing over fractional score differences.
Advantages of the New System:
The introduction of marks and grades will have several advantages for students, teachers, and educational institutions alike.
For students, the system will offer greater clarity regarding their academic performance. Grades provide a broader perspective, allowing students to better understand where they stand in comparison to others, without the pressure of competing for a perfect score. Moreover, this dual evaluation system can also offer a sense of accomplishment, as students will receive recognition for their hard work and understanding, not just for scoring high marks.
For teachers, the new system will enable them to better assess the strengths and weaknesses of their students. Grades will offer a more comprehensive view of a student’s abilities, helping teachers identify areas where individual students may need additional support or where they are excelling.
Finally, educational institutions will benefit from a system that provides a fuller picture of a student’s academic journey, allowing them to make more informed decisions about how to support and guide students in their learning.
Looking Forward:
The new policy is expected to be implemented gradually, with full details and guidelines to be shared by the Telangana State Board in the coming months. Educational experts hope that this shift will not only ease the burden on students but also foster a more supportive and holistic approach to learning and teaching. By aligning with modern trends in education, the Telangana Board is setting an example for other states and regions to follow in their efforts to create a more balanced, fair, and supportive educational system.
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