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Home > Credential Evaluation Issues > Converting Secondary Grades from India

CREDENTIAL EVALUATION ISSUES

Converting Secondary Grades from India

October 1, 2011
By WES Sta!

In academic year 2009/10 there were almost 105,000 Indian students at U.S.
colleges and universities, and while just 15,000 of them were enrolled at the
undergraduate level, Indian students in bachelor’s programs still represented the
third largest national body of undergraduate students in the United States (a"er
China and South Korea).

More recent data suggest that Indian attendance at U.S. institutions of higher
education is set for renewed growth a"er a couple of years of stagnating
enrollments. According to figures released at the end of October by the U.S.
Embassy in New Delhi, visa applications from prospective Indian students grew
by 18 percent in fiscal year 2011 (October to September) versus 2010. In our own
o!ices at World Education Services, we saw similar growth in applications from
Indians seeking evaluations of their academic credentials in the first half of 2011
versus the same period in 2010.

Factors that seem likely to drive continued growth in enrollments among Indian
students include a booming Indian economy, an expanding middle class, the
widening gap between demand for higher education and available places at
respected Indian institutions of higher education, and the easing of visa and
student workplace regulations in the United States.

Statistical Overview

Number of secondary schools: 106,084

Number of secondary students (Class IX-X): 25,007,093
Gross enrollment ratio*: 52.2%
Number of higher secondary schools: 53,619
Number of higher secondary students (Classes XI-XII): 13,447,666
Gross enrollment ratio: 28.5%

* Percent enrolled from the relevant age group.

Source: Selected Educational Statistics, 2005-06

The bulk of the Indian student body will continue to enroll at the graduate level,
but increased a!luence among a growing middle class is likely to continue a
trend that in recent years has seen strong growth in enrollments at the
undergraduate level. For U.S. admissions departments, this raises questions
about how best to select from the growing pool of Indian secondary-school
leavers. Many of these applicants will have yet to take their school-leaving
examinations, a fact that makes assessing suitability for undergraduate
admission somewhat problematic.

In this article, which appears as a companion piece to recent WES webinars on

the same topic, we o!er advice on ensuring accurate credential evaluations and
admissions decisions based on best practices in obtaining and verifying
necessary academic documents, and in converting Indian secondary grades.

Structure of Secondary Education

Key Characteristics of Indian Secondary Education

High stakes examination-driven system.

Academic Year June to March/April.
Three terms.
Language of instruction is one of the 30 o!icial regional languages,
although some private schools teach in English.
Upper secondary is divided into two branches: Academic or
Technical/Vocational. Students select one of three streams in the academic
branch: Science, business or humanities.

Secondary education in India begins a"er eight years of elementary education

and is divided into two years of secondary education (classes IX and X) and two
years of senior secondary education (classes XI and XII).

Examination Boards

At the end of the secondary phase (class X), students take a set of externally
administered examinations from either a state or national (All-India) examination
board. Students who pass the secondary examinations earn a certificate usually
called the Secondary School Certificate or SSC. These students are eligible for
senior secondary school.

Secondary qualifications may also be known as:

– Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (awarded by CISCE)
– (New) Secondary School Certificate (awarded by NIOS)
– Secondary School Leaving Certificate (awarded by some states)
– All-India Secondary School Certificate (awarded by CBSE)
– Matriculation Certificate (no longer awarded)
A"er two years of senior secondary school, students are again examined by their
school’s a!iliated board and, if successful, awarded the Higher Secondary
(School) Certificate (HSC/HSSC). There are also examinations administered
internally by individual secondary schools at the end of class XI.

Higher Secondary Certificates may also be known as:

Intermediate Certificate (some state boards)

Pre-University Certificate (some state boards)
All India Senior School Certificate (CBSE)
Indian School Certificate (CISCE)
Certificate of Vocational Education (CISCE)

Students who pass the HSC are eligible for university admissions, although some
selective colleges or universities require separate admissions examinations.
Approximately 25 percent of the 9.5 million students who took Standard XII
examinations in 2008 did not pass, meaning that only 75 percent of students were
eligible to receive the final certificate.

Admission to professional programs (engineering, architecture, medicine etc) is

through competitive state- or national-level entrance examinations. These
include the Joint Entrance Examination (Indian Institutes of Technology), the All-
India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Examination, and the All-India Engineering
Entrance Examination.

There are a total of 31 state examination boards and three national boards.
Secondary schools are a!iliated to either the state board relevant to their
location or one of two national boards. The two major national boards are the
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for Indian School
Certificate Examinations (CISCE).

The overall number of students taking the Standard XII (HSC) Examination in
2008 was almost 9.5 million. Over 94 percent of those students took state boards
with just 5.8 percent taking either the CBSE or ISCE exams. Despite the overall
low percentage of students taking national board exams, a disproportionate
number of students who come to North American schools take one of the two
central board examinations, so admissions o!icers should be familiar with their
documents.

It should also be noted that the central boards administer examinations overseas
for Indian students in secondary schools mainly in the Middle East and Southeast
Asia.

Curriculum and Examination Content

Upper secondary school is divided into two branches: Academic or

technical/vocational. In the academic branch, students select one of three
streams: Science, business or humanities.

The language of instruction is one of India’s 30 o!icial regional languages. The

particular language will depend on where exactly the school is located, with the
exception of some private schools where the language of instruction is English.
Most state boards will have a language of instruction particular to its curriculum.
For CBSE-a!iliated schools, the language of instruction will depend on the state
(or country) in which the school is located, while CISCE-a!iliated schools
typically teach in English.

Students are typically examined in either two languages and three stream
subjects or one language and four stream subjects. If students take just one
language, it must be either English or Hindi. The second language can be any of
the 30 regional languages or a foreign language identified by the board.

On the certificate marksheet (transcript), the only scores that appear are the
externally examined subjects. The results of internally examined subjects outside
of a student’s concentration do not typically appear on the final board
marksheet, although they are frequently named as having been taken.

The marksheet will indicate the maximum number of marks available in each
subject in addition to the score the student achieved. Grade point averages can
be calculated from these two numbers.

Standard Secondary Curriculum

Externally Examined Subjects Marks

First Language (Special) 100
Second Language (General) 50
First Stream Subject 100
Second Stream Subject 100
Third Stream Subject 100
Internally (school) Examined Subjects (Do not appear on final certificate)
Environmental Education and Disaster Management
Vocational Training
Physical Education

An academic week consists of 45 periods of 40 minutes each (CBSE), and the

distribution of periods per week is as follows:

Subject Periods
First Language 7
Second Language (fourth stream) 7
First Stream Subject 8
Second Stream Subject 8
Third Stream Subject 8
General Studies/General Foundation Course 3
Work Experience 2+2*
Physical and Health Education 2
* Time expected to be spent outside school hours (Source:
www.cbse.nic.in)

CBSE Class XII curriculum and grading guidelines for 2012/13 are available here
(PDF): http://cbse.nic.in/currisyllabus/senior curriculum-vol-1-2013.pdf

A New CBSE Grading Scheme for Classes IX & X

In 2009, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) replaced its old
marking scheme for class X examinations with a new grading system to be used
in end-of-term examinations in classes IX and X. Under the new system, student
admission to the senior-secondary level at CBSE-a!iliated schools is no longer
based on one set of high stakes examinations, a major critique of the Indian
schooling system, but rather a new Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).
Students leaving school at the end of class X still take certificate examinations.

The new grading protocol averages marks obtained by students in each subject
to achieve an overall grade point average. Individual grades are considered when
determining the stream that students will enter for senior secondary school. For
example, schools can calculate a student’s performance in the sciences by taking
the average score of the grade points in mathematics, science and English.

The CBSE now awards grades for each subject on a nine-point scale. Aptitude
tests have also been introduced in grades IX and X, in addition to the CGPA, to
help schools gauge student ability, while also discouraging what the board sees
as unhealthy competition among students.

Under the nine-point grading system, a student’s performance is first assessed

using conventional numerical marking and then converted to grades on the basis
of pre-determined mark ranges.

It appears that some state boards are following the CBSE’s example in changing
to what is described in India as a Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation
(CCE) system. A governmental committee has also looked into the viability of
introducing such a system at the upper secondary level.
Marks GradeGrade Point
91-100 A1 10.0
81-90 A2 9.0
71-80 B1 8.0
61-70 B2 7.0
51-60 C1 6.0
41-50 C2 5.0
33-40 D 4.0
21-32 E1 –
20 and belowE2 –
CBSE
Grading Scales

The most common grading scale, and the one used by most state secondary
boards, is percentile based with corresponding classifications.

WES
Marks Classification
Equivalent
60-100First Division A
45-59 Second DivisionB
33*-44Third/Pass C
0-32 Fail Fail
*The minimum passing mark depends on the a!iliating board and can range from
30% to 40%
**Special awards, indicated as distinction, honors or merit certificate are given for
grades higher than 70% or 75%, depending on the Board. First division with
distinction is particularly common.

The CBSE uses nine positional grades in each subject, which are based on the
performance of ALL the candidates who passed the exam in that subject in a
given year. Positional grades are given with marks of 0-100, but are based on a
comparative curve rather than on absolute grade ranges. Therefore, the CBSE
positional grades are a good indication of the quality of the student in relation to
his or her peers in that particular year.

CBSE Positional GradesA-1 Top 1/8th of the passing candidates

A-2 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
B-1 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
B-2 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
C-1 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
C-2 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
D-1 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
D-2 Next 1/8th of the passing candidates
E Failed candidates
* Minimum pass for CBSE subjects is 33%

The CISCE has a minimum pass grade of 40 percent and no classification system.

Marks WES Equivalent

60-100A
50-59 B
40-49*C
0-39 F
*The minimum passing grade is 40, which is higher than for most state boards.

The CISCE also gives a positional classification on the basis of marks earned in
each subject, but according to set rigid ranges as opposed to the performance
curve of the CBSE. The positional grades are provided on a separate “Pass
Certificate” that accompanies the marksheet.

CISCE Positional Grades

1. Very Good
2. Very Good
3. Very Good
4. Pass with Credit
5. Pass with Credit
6. Pass with Credit
7. Pass
8. Pass
9.* Fail
* Not reflected on the certificate.

The Mechanics of Determining GPA Equivalents

State Boards
1. The GPA is obtained by converting the division classification reflected on the
marksheet into a US grade (see grading scale above), where the classification is
determined by dividing the total marks earned by the maximum marks available.
Or
2. The GPA is obtained by a calculation based on the marks earned in each
subject.

National Boards
For the national boards there are no overall classifications, so the GPA has to be
calculated from each passing mark in each subject.

Required Secondary Documents from India

Grade CBSCE CISCE State Boards

All India Secondary
Indian Certificate
Grade School Certificate
of Secondary Secondary School Certificate (SSC)
10 Examination
Education (ICSE)
(AISSCE)
All India Senior
– Higher Secondary Certificate –
Secondary School
Grade Indian School Intermediate Certificate – Pre-
Certificate
12 Certificate (ISC) University Certificate – Senior
Examination
Secondary School Certificate
(AISSSCE)
Examination
Examination results results
Examination results (marksheets)
Source(marksheets) sent (marksheets)
sent directly from State Boards
directly from CBSE sent directly
from CISCE
Admissions o!ices should request marksheets or certificates directly from the
board a!iliated with the school attended. This is the case for all boards.

If the student has not completed class XII at the time of application then class X
results can also be sent directly. Intermediate grades, either class XI or
incomplete class XII can be requested directly from the school attended.
Intermediate grading is based on internally examined or assessed courses.

The marksheet will always show if the student earned a final degree, which
means that the original degree certificate is not needed for an accurate
evaluation. However, WES does require a copy of the degree certificate as a
backup. If your institution requires the original degree certificate then it can also
be requested from the board.

The CBSE degree certificate will always show both the internally and externally
examined subjects taken by the student near the bottom of the document.
However, the marksheet will only show marks for externally examined subjects.
The document will also show if the student has an overall pass or not (did or did
not graduate), but this should not be taken as a positional grade.

The CISCE degree documents will show ‘Pass Certificate Awarded’ at the bottom
to indicate that the degree certificate was attained. The accompanying document
known as the Pass Certificate will show the positional performance of the student
for each subject taken.

Results for CBSE and CISCE examinations can be accessed online. In both cases,
you will need the student roll number (i.d. number) to verify results. The CBSE
also administers Teacher, All-India Engineering and Medical/Dental Entrance
Examinations, and those results can also be accessed from the website.

CBSE: http://cbseresults.nic.in/
CISCE: http://cisce.examresults.net
Gujarat: http://www.gseb.org/

What to Request for Incomplete Secondary Education

For students who are applying for an undergraduate place while in their last year
of secondary studies and who have not yet taken Standard XII examinations,
documents that can be requested include:

The externally examined class X exams (although from the current

academic year, it would appear that the CBSE is no longer o!ering
Standard X exams for students continuing on to class XI, in which case
performance indicators under the new GPA system should be requested).
General assessment from class XI and whatever term they have completed
in class XII from the secondary school attended. Internal assessments
should be a good indicator of performance on the national class XII
examination.

CBSE CISCE State Boards

Indian Certificate of
All India Secondary School Secondary School
Secondary Education
Certificate Examination Certificate
(ICSE)
Examination results Examination results Examination results
(marksheet) sent directly (marksheets) sent directly (marksheets) sent directly
from CBSE from CISCE from State Board
AND AND AND
Grade 11 and 12 (1st term) Grade 11 and 12 (1st term) Grade 11 and 12 (1st term)
transcripts sent directly transcripts sent directly transcripts sent directly
from secondary school from secondary school from secondary school
attended attended attended

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