The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued an important clarification following queries from students regarding discrepancies in their evaluated answer sheets. CBSE explained that such
differences often arise due to the policy followed for questions with internal choices. In many question papers, students are provided with options and are required to attempt only a specified number of questions. However, in some cases, students attempt more questions than required.
This explanation comes after several CBSE class 12 students, after accessing scanned copies of their answer books, reported mismatches between the total marks calculated on the answer sheet and the final marks displayed.
As per CBSE’s long-standing policy, when a student attempts extra questions, the system considers only the best marks obtained among the attempted options. The remaining answers are marked as “Over Attempt” and are not included in the final total. These excluded marks are indicated with an asterisk (*) on the answer sheet.
To illustrate, CBSE shared an example involving Question 31 from Chemistry answer script, which had an internal choice between parts (a) and (b). If a student attempted both, and scored three marks in part (a) and two marks in part (b), only the higher score (three marks) is counted. The marks for part (b) are marked with an asterisk and excluded from the total. A footnote on the answer sheet specifies that such marked scores are omitted during calculation.
In this case, after considering only the valid marks, the total score comes to 43.5, which is then rounded off to 44.
CBSE has advised all students to carefully review the asterisk markings and corresponding footnotes before recalculating their totals. The board emphasised that understanding this marking scheme is crucial to avoid confusion and unnecessary concerns regarding discrepancies.
The board has requested students to thoroughly verify their answer sheets in line with these guidelines before raising objections or applying for re-evaluation.
