Marginal drop in success rate but extra time for maths helps many ICSE candidates score high
Times of India | 1 May 2025
12 Kolkata: Though the pass percentage marginally dropped, the students of ICSE (class 10) did much better in mathematics this time as they got an additional half hour. School heads stated that application-based and higher-order critical thinking questions contributed to high scores for the students.
The ICSE mathematics examination was previously a two-and-a-half-hour test, which was extended to a three-hour exam. In La Martiniere for Boys School, a total of 239 candidates appeared for the exam, out of which 113 scored above 90%. In GD Birla Centre for Education, 384 students appeared for the exam, and 147 students scored 90% and above. In DPS Megacity, 402 students appeared for the exam, and 200 students scored above 90%. In Rammohan Mission,202 candidates appeared for the exam, among whom 72 scored 90% and above.
Several school principals emphasised that the overall maths score increased, contributing to better scores and a higher aggregate for quite a number of candidates this year compared to previous years. Parnali Saha, a student of DPS Newtown who scored 100 in mathematics, said, "The maths paper was a little tricky, and I couldn't have completed it if it was a two-and-a-half-hour exam. I have no worries in maths, but I scored 100 only because of this additional half hour."
St Xavier's Collegiate School principal Roshan Tirkey said, "Especially for the subject of mathematics, the additional time definitely helped them because earlier, in a hurry, they used to make mistakes." Julien Day Group of Schools director of education and development Terence John said students scored extremely high this time in all four schools. Principal of La Martiniere for Girls, Rupkatha Sarkar stated that the half-hour increase in the maths paper helped reduce stress among students.
Garden High School's principal Rajarshri Biswas said, "It gives students the breathing space they need to carefully read the questions, plan their approach, and review their work."In ICSE, students faced around 25% critical thinking questions, which helped many students to score better. St Augustine's Day School, Shyamnagar, principal Rodney Borneo said, " The fact that students responded to the changes so well means that it was a step in the right direction."