Chemistry Paper Punctures HOTS Scare

Boards 2008 started on a positive note for students of class XII on Saturday.

The HOTS scare turned out to be a storm in a teacup as most students found their chemistry exam easier than expected with all the questions in the paper based only on the NCERT text.

Although the tension was palpable among parents of candidates in the morning, the examination centres were brimming with happy faces after the exam.

"There was nothing resembling HOTS questions in the paper and it was really easy. I tried locating such questions in the paper as soon as I got it but I was relaxed when I could not find them. Nothing was asked from out of the prescribed syllabus either," said Ancku Priyvij from Mater Dei School, Tilak Lane.

CBSE had announced on February 14 that 20 per cent questions in each paper will require ‘High Order Thinking Skills,' generating panic among students just two weeks before the exams.

However, students appeared game to tackle the rest of papers after their first paper got an easy head start.

"There was a lot tension in the morning when we had come to drop our daughter at the centre. We offered prayers and made her eat curd for good luck. However, now that our daughter is happy after writing her paper, we are relaxed." said Tapan Paul, a parent.

Most students were anxious in the morning because it was the first day of the board exams and also because more HOTS questions could have meant a less scoring chemistry paper.

"A weightage of 3-4 marks is given to every chapter in chemistry so it becomes essential that a student is thorough with every word of the book to avoid missing out on quick marks in the paper. Chemistry is over. Now students should watch out for the Maths paper, which is expected to have more analytical questions," advised a Maths teacher from a government school who had come to pick her daughter appearing for her exam at St Columba's School.

It is now the turn of class X students to try their luck with HOTS as they face their first main board exam on Monday. After having appeared for Introductory IT on Saturday, they have Social Studies next.

According to CBSE, the question papers always carry application-based questions and the students need not worry about HOTS.

"If the students have studied the text properly, they will come out with flying colours. The papers are designed in such a way that there are questions for all kinds of students," said CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma.

Courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com