The world is currently divided on the question of how strict should promotion regulations be. Should schools continue to adhere to the policy of letting marks decide a student’s fate of getting promoted to the next class? Or, is the system too obsolete in the face of recent demands of education when acquiring other soft skills also matter? The CBSE board maintains a low passing benchmark. The question patterns today also accommodate the needs of all kinds of students. And the Affordable Boarding school in Sonipat is often strict about their promotion regulations as the marks-based passing criteria is still the best strategy we have to evaluate a student’s educational proficiency.
A passing mark help maintain a minimum educational benchmark
Although the system of standardised examinations frequently comes under the scanner and their efficiency is questioned, both the Indian education boards and their associated schools have improved the system with time. Achieving the passing mark now is not that difficult. To help students, a certain set of questions is kept straight-forward so that anyone who has read the textbook and paid attention in class can answer. This is thus a way to test if students are serious about their education. To get promoted to the next class, all students need to do is put in the required effort to pass. The lower cut-off helps in maintaining an education benchmark. Without this, the whole system will run in utter chaos.
But is being strict about promotion necessary?
Consider a student who has to secure 33 out of 100 to pass a subject in a particular class. In the next grade, this particular subject is going to get more advanced and the student is required to understand the basics to be able to retain anything of the advanced level. If this student scores a 35 or 40, it means that he/she has answered the direct questions right and understands the basics of the subject. One who scores in the 90s has grasped the subject and promotion regulations of the top school in Sonipat do not expect every student to reach that kind of mastery.
Now, a student who scored in the 20s has clearly gotten the direct questions wrong. It is clear that he/she is yet to understand the basics of the subject. Promoting him/her to the next grade by being lenient now will start an eternal cycle of struggle for this student that is detrimental to his/her education. The student is now trying to learn something advanced when his/her basics are still not clear. With time, the subject will reach out of hands and the student will develop a weak educational foundation. Can this help his/her future or even his self-confidence studying in a peer group who are way ahead academically? Schools thus need to be strict about promotions. The guidelines benefit students more than working to their disadvantage.
A form of external motivation
When students know that they need a minimum of 33 marks to pass, the drive to study the subject comes naturally. Not always can internal motivation be strong enough to get the job done. Students need an external force to focus them on studying and the passing mark serves the purpose by setting a lower standard. If schools are slack with their promotion regulations, students will also take their education casually. And this again will not help the academic foundation of children that is so important for their future.
Plus, students are not left alone
The Best Boarding schools in Sonipat do not function like the students will have just one exam to show their mettle and it is now or never. The final exam is built up by a series of assessments and tests in the daily classrooms. When a teacher notices that a student is struggling with a subject, he/she is immediately put in a remedial program where extra classes are separately provided to help the student. Progress is continuously tracked; assignments are set accordingly. A student who shows chances of not passing a particular grade has help continuously and the final call of holding him/her back is only taken when even the remedial classes could not help.
Thus, despite the raging debates across the world, Swarnprastha Public School maintains a strict promotion code. SPS continues to use standardised methods to evaluate education and sets a basic academic expectation in front of all its students. However, the school is vigilant with its remedial classes. Informal assessments also form an integral part of the school’s evaluation process. Together, SPS’s marking system accommodates the needs and skills of all students and grades them fairly. Promotion to the next class is a sign of academic advancement. If the journey is corrupted by excess leniency now, the students ultimately suffer.
