CBSE Announces Exam Dates For Problem Solving Test

The CBSE (Central Board Of Secondary Education) has announced the test dates for the 'Problem Solving Assessment Test'. It is a mandatory test for all students of Class 9 and class 11. It will assess the Life Skills relating to following areas:
a) Quantitative Reasoning: Includes the reasoning seen in the Humanities, Arts and social Sciences
b) Qualitative Reasoning: We includes the kinds of reasoning found in Mathematics and science and
c) Language Conventions: Which includes different aspects of written communications (for instance Grammar, Vocabulary etc..)

The test contains of 60 items of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) and carry 90 marks. Distribution of 60 items shall be as following:

Test Context Domain/ Item Type	No of Items	Sub-Total
a. Qualitative Reasoning:
Stand alone MCQ's	6	18
Passage based MCQ Set 1	6
Passage based MCQ Set 2	6
b. Qualitative Reasoning:
Stand alone MCQ's	10	18
Passage based MCQ Set 1	4
Passage based MCQ Set 2	4
c. Language Conventions:
Grammar and Usage MCQ's	8	24
Vocabulary in Context based MCQ's	8
Passage completion based MCQ's	8

These items will incorporate aspects of 21st century Skills like Creative thinking, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Communication that lead to success at Secondary stage. They would further be assessing student's ability to process, interpret and use information rather than assessing students prior subject matter knowledge.

The sections in Problem Solving Assessment will be designed in such a way so as to improve the generic and higher order thinking skills. This will also result in improving scores within the core school subjects.

For Class IX: The problem solving assessment will be counted towards FA-4 which is 10% of total assessments of class IX. This assessment will also be carried forward towards the FA-4 in class 9. This score will be reflected in one language (Either English or Hindi), Mathematics, Science and social Science with effect from session 2012-13 for Class 9 and 2013-14 for Class 10. The same will be reflected in FA-4 for class 9 and 10.

For Class 11: Students will get a certificate on the Problem Solving Assessment by July 2013. There shall be no seperate time tables or periods for teaching or practice of PSA in schools.

Please note:

• The examination for class 9 and 11 will be held on 14th February, 2013, Thursday from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, in the school premises only.
• Candidates shall appear against their Registration number.
• The board shall provide question paper containing OMR Answer Sheet, for candidates of class9 and class 11 registered for academic session 2012-13.