CISCE sends sample questions for 2nd semester

KOLKATA: The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Tuesday sent sample question papers for the second semester exams of ICSE and ISC, which will be subjective unlike the first semester exams that were MCQ-based.
Schools said that since the sample questions have been sent well in advance, they will have enough time to make students practise.Schools are presently busy with practice for practical exams — punctuated by short winter breaks — that will have to be completed by January 31. After that, the syllabus for the second-semester will have to be completed and sample questions practised.
The Council has prepared sample questions for all subjects and posted them on the website as well so that candidates can get an idea of what is expected of them. There will be a mix of objectives — where candidates will have to write short answers — subjective questions, which will carry greater weightage. Here, candidates will be expected to write longer answers. Subjective questions will need analytical answers in many cases, school heads said after studying the sample questions. The question pattern has slightly changed to help children use their understanding of concepts rather than falling back on rote, school heads said.
The biggest challenge is to get students to get back to writing, schools felt, because they have been out of touch with writing during the past 20 months of online teaching. Also, the past three months of preparations for the MCQ mode of exam have also kept children from getting back to long-hand writing.
“However, children are much more adaptable than we think. The Council has kept in mind the challenge of writing and we find that very long answers are not there. In English, analytical questions are of four marks. The challenge is to train students to write content keeping in mind the marks allotted and time limit,” said Sonali Sen, principal of DPS Newtown.
Ian Myers, principal of Frank Anthony Public School, agreed. “There is a combination of objective and subjective type questions, so students now have to switch over from the MCQ pattern. It is quite a challenge considering the time factor because the syllabus will also have to be completed,” he said.
Rupkatha Sarkar, principal of La Martiniere for Girls, said that since the sample papers have been sent timely, students will have time to understand the rubrics of the papers. Father Rodney Borneo, principal of St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar felt the sample papers were student-friendly.