CBSE Does Away with Open Book Exams for Classes IX and XI

CBSE has decided to do away with Open Textbook Based Assessment (OTBA) for classes IX and XI, with effect from the 2017-18 academic year. The board has cited ‘partial achievement’ of objectives and feedback from stakeholders as the reason behind rolling back the open-book exams.

The OTBA was introduced in 2014 to facilitate the development of critical abilities and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in students. It was made compulsory in English, Hindi, Maths, Science and Social Science in class XI and a few subjects such as Economics, Biology and Geography in class XI. accordingly, adjustments were also made to the marking scheme —a separate 10 marks were allocated to OTBA . the section comprised of text followed by two or three questions based in the text which required students to employ their reasoning skills and come up with interpretations and subjective opinions.

The teachers and students seem to be in favour of CBSE’s new move. While the students said that the OTBA questions were tougher and not helpful in all subjects, teachers were of the opinion that it failed to meet its desired outcome—that of encouraging independent thinking in students—and instead make the examinations tougher for students.