CBSE English Paper – a review

The Central Board of Secondary Education [CBSE] has released sample question papers for the current academic session. As a teacher of English in the senior secondary section, let me take a look at the class 12 English question paper.

Fosters Creativity

The first thing that struck me is that many of the questions in the Literature section foster the creativity of the students. Earlier there used to be only bookish questions and answers. Now there are many questions that let a student exercise her creative imagination. Look at this question, for instance:

‘Their mother sighed. Sophie watched her back stooped over the sink and wondered at the incongruity of the delicate bow which fastened her apron strings.’

The prose selection, Going Places includes this telling comment about Sophie’s mother.

In Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, we are told that - ‘The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band / Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.’

Imagine a conversation between Sophie’s mother and Aunt Jennifer. Create this exchange with reference to the two extracts given above.

You may begin the conversation like this:

Sophie’s mother: Your embroidery is so beautiful. Do you love tigers?

The question, like most in the section, is pretty long. But it is a question that tests many skills simultaneously: critical thinking, creativity, analytical skills, dialogue construction, and insight into human nature. Intelligent students will enjoy answering these questions. But the not-so-fortunate ones will stumble by the very magnitude of the questions and then by the tremendous demands made by them.

 

Even the short questions that carry 2 marks each are no less daunting. Some examples:

·       What do we come to know about the author of Lost Spring, Anees Jung, through her interactions with Saheb and Mukesh?

·       If the Christmas spirit is about selflessness, forgiveness and becoming 'better' versions of ourselves amongst other things, Edla Willmansson is the epitome of this spirit. Justify with two points of evidence from The Rattrap.

·       ‘It’s easy to judge others and give advice, but much more difficult to apply it to ourselves.’ Elaborate with reference to the character of Sam in The Third Level.

This is not to say that the question paper is not good. On the contrary, it is too good. The very length of the question paper – almost as big as a little book with its 15 pages – can terrify students who are not prodigies.

Ambiguity in the objective type questions

There are many objective type questions with multiple choice answers and some of them suffer from ambiguity rather acutely. A few examples:

What is the most likely reason some people consider the practice of interview to be an art?

This could be because it requires

A. fluency of words.                                 B. sensitive and careful handling.

C. creativity and imagination.               D. probing and focusing on details.

The answer given is C. Why not B?

While every other member of the Department wore a kind of uniform — khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt — the legal adviser wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat that looked like a coat of mail. Often he looked alone and helpless …

Based on the above extract choose the statement that is TRUE for the legal adviser.

A. He disliked the actress from the countryside.

B. He acted after thinking through things carefully.

C. He did not gel well with others in the Department.

D. He was always dressed smartly.

The answer given is C. What about D?

Some of these MCQs can simply put off many average and below-average students. An example:

Some might make quite extravagant claims for it as being, in its highest form, a source of truth, and, in its practice, an art. Others, usually celebrities who see themselves as its victims, might despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives, or feel that it somehow diminishes them, just as in some primitive cultures it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul.

On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.

(1) Celebrities don’t consent to be interviewed.

(2) Interviews intrude the privacy of celebrities.

              A. (1) Can be inferred from the extract but (2) cannot.

              B. (1) cannot be inferred from the extract but (2) can.

              C. (1) is true but (2) is false.

              D. (2) is the reason for (1).

Conclusion

The question paper is good in many ways. It’s comprehensive and ambitious. It assesses a student’s learning at many levels and from different angles. The question, however, is: Are our students prepared for this sort of a question paper? There are just a few months left for the annual exams and will schools get enough time to prepare the students to face this sort of an examination? As a teacher, I have genuine concerns. If only because assessment is not meant only for prodigies.