Why pre-boards should be prioritised

Shreeprakash Sharma

The pre-board examination of Class XII prepares students for board examination and even promises a foundation for the career. Unfortunately, students do not take this examination seriously and end up performing poorly even in the board examination in March.

Pre-board examination result gives an idea about how the performance would be in board examination. It also is one of the significant parameters of selection to various professional courses. The examination is considered as the ‘full dress-rehearsal’ of the ensuing board examination. 

Thus, students need study well for pre-board examinations and plan meticulously.

Be thorough with syllabus

The syllabus of all subjects of the course gets completed in  schools before the commencement of pre-board examination. Next is revising the concepts seriously, so that lessons learnt in the classroom are memorised well.

Students should know the syllabus of each subject to plan the time better. While revising the syllabus, students must have knowledge of the following points:

1. Details of marks allotted to each chapter of the subject.

2.Chapters with high and low weightage of marks and types of questions asked from those chapters in the examination. Each chapter must be thoroughly studied to find out the number of objective or multiple-choice type questions, short-answer type questions, long-answer type questions and, most importantly, numerical questions prescribed to be asked in the examination.

3.Choose long-answer type questions in each chapter very carefully and prepare the answers rationally. The long-answer  type questions usually carry six-eight marks and thus, play a crucial role in scoring good marks. 

4.Make notes of important facts, figures and formulae of each chapter and paste them at a vantage point in your study room. 

5.Plan on a day-to-day basis. Since the time period for the pre-board examination is very less, you need to make a plan on everyday basis. Identify the various chapters which you find hard to grasp and devote it an entire day. 

You may even club a few chapters to practice for a day. This would hasten the learning and accelerate the process of preparation to dovetail the time running so fast. 

Make realistic plans, which can be implemented with the resources and time available. Avoid burdening your day with the tasks which you cannot accomplish and handle. 

Do not panic 

When time runs fast and syllabus is vast, students can start feeling jittery. Do not worry a lot about the examination, because the assessment is only at the school level and not at the Board level. Despite average performance in this examination, you must understand that you still have another big chance to prove your mettle in the final examination. Be patient and keep your confidence up to continue to prepare for the final examination. 

Be positive, always

Having a positive mental attitude means asking how something can be done, rather than saying it can’t be. You must always stay optimistic even if the situation isn’t in your favour. Always believe in your ability and stop underestimating yourself. 

Do not stop trying. Success in pre-board examination is, in fact, the reflection of how you are going to do in your final examination. The academicians and the subject experts have come to the conclusion that the final-board examination results are only plus and minus 10 percent of the pre-board examination results. 

—The writer is principal, Jawahar 

Navodaya Vidyalaya, Dinthar Veng, Mamit, Mizoram

Manage time rationally 

Time management is also a prerequisite for success in examination like pre-boards. Every student has his own favourite subjects. But there are always a few subjects that a student finds difficult to learn and understand. For such subjects, you need to allot relatively more time and resources. This type of rational time management not only makes the task easier, but also more rewarding and encouraging.

Clarity about objective and MCQs

Multiple-choice and objective questions are generally of one-mark each. These questions are of quick-fix nature, which can help a student score easy and crucial marks. 

To prepare for the answers of these types of questions, you must study each chapter very intensively. Jot down important concepts, theories, inventions, rules, laws, formulae, equations, and step-wise methods of measurement or calculation, units, year, date and a lot of other facts and figures while going through the chapters.