A meeting to review the Policy of Moderation of marks to avoid spiking of marks was conveyed by the Secretary (School Education and Literacy), in Ministry of Human Resource Development, on 24thApril, 2017 with State Education Secretaries and Chairman of State Education Boards and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). All State Boards decided to constitute Inter Board Working Group (IBWG) comprising of Chairman, Board of Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Telengana, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, ICSE with Chairman, CBSE as the Convener of the IBWG.
The following decisions in regard to moderation of marks for upward revision/spiking of marks have been taken unanimously:
(i) All State Boards decided to stop awarding moderation of marks for upward revision /spiking of marks from the current year except Kerala Board and subject to amendment in the State regulations, if required. However, Kerala Board conveyed to do away with moderation from the next year.
(ii) All State Boards decided to continue with the policy of Grace Marks for lower level performance to improve the pass percentage but the policy should be placed on Board’s website for transparency. It was also decided to show grace marks distinctly in the Marks Sheet.
All State Boards placed on record the appreciation for efforts of Government of India and State Governments to initiate this process of consultation to bring uniformity in evaluation and improve quality of education in the country.