In its bid to reform the examination system, the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recommended an increase in the marks allotted to internal assessment by up to 50 per cent and more emphasis on multiple choice questions.
The apex education body has also recommended that students should be given projects to work on different topics.
Thus, it would be helpful for the young learners to assimilate the concepts and the major issues in different subjects instead of the conventional learning by memorising a few facts and dates.
The Department of Education Measurement and Evaluation of NCERT has suggested various educational boards across the country, including CBSE, to give more weightage to school-based assessment which would be conducted through oral testing, projects and practicals.
“Written test should not be the only method of assessing the knowledge of a student.
The internal assessment, to be conducted by the schools, will make the test broad-based and can judge the students properly,” Prof Avtar Singh, head of the department, said.
Question patterns
NCERT has also suggested revamping the question patterns in the written test with more emphasis on short answer type and multiple choice questions (MCQ).
NCERT has already taken up the matter with different boards like CBSE, Assam Secondary Board, Himachal Pradesh Board and Jammu and Kashmir Board in this regard.
As per the recommendations, the teachers in schools would conduct oral testing by asking questions to students and initiating discussions among them. The oral skills of  the students would carry certain marks.
Besides, the students would have to prepare projects in different topics which could judge their understanding of the concepts.
More emphasis would be on practical exam which would further strengthen the learners’ understanding, he said.