Difference between CBSE and IB?

A good education is the most significant gift parents can give their children. Ensuring this involves deciding on the school to attend and the course of study to be followed. It is the latter that often causes doubt and uncertainty in the minds of the parents. To make the process simpler, here is a brief comparison between 2 popular secondary examinations – CBSE and IB.

CBSE

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was formed by the Government of India to provide a uniform quality and standard of education to students across India.

Features:

• The syllabus is designed to make it compatible with many competitive entrance examinations for institutes of higher education like engineering and medical colleges.
• The course of study is thus aimed at enabling students to perform well in entrance examinations.
• Since the syllabus is the same all over India, a student can move to another part of the country with significant disruption to studies.
• Both English and Hindi are used as mediums of instruction.

Read Also: BPS Starts New Academic Year Online

IB Features:

• The approach is balanced with equal emphasis on all subjects, and students can choose the subjects to study.
• The focus is on understanding concepts instead of learning by rote.
• The IB internationally recognized and an advantage when applying for studies abroad.

Read Also: Why ICSE Could Be the Right Option for Your Child

The decision on what course of study to follow will depend on the aptitude and inclinations of a child. Parents need to understand these and then talk to qualified educators to help them find the right academic path for their children. Leading schools, with impeccable reputations and track records in producing successful, well rounded, and confident children, will be able to give parents the guidance they need.

Simple Strategies to Help You Improve Your Exam Scores

Exams have become an annual terror to students, but that need not be the case. Your exam score does not define you and does not have to be a cause for anxiety. These are some simple tips and tricks recommended by Residential School Experts to improve your exam scores and get rid of the needless anxiety that comes with it:

Pay attention in class!

This sounds obvious, but this is often where students falter. If you pay attention in class and focus on the topic, it will cut your study time in half! This way, you don’t have to read the topic by yourself for the first time the day before the exam and panic. If you find it difficult to concentrate in class, there may be another problem that you need to address – Are you unable to see the board or hear the teacher? Are you constantly distracted by your friend’s chatter? Ask your parents or your teacher for any help you may need to concentrate better.

Focus on “understanding” and not on “memorizing”

Memorizing might work for class tests where a single topic is being tested, but won’t work for Exams where the syllabus is vast. Try to break up each topic into its key ideas (your textbook is probably already organized this way) and focus on really understanding them. It is important that the key ideas are clear so you can just revise details the day before the exam, not re-learn something totally new.

Take notes by hand

Writing things by hand is always great because it helps you remember better. Make your notes as detailed as you can – color-code them, write smaller notes in the margins that will help you remember the context, underline and highlight keywords, and most importantly, make your notes neat, legible and attractive for you to look at so you can revise by reading through your notes instead of the textbook.

Be strategic while you study

Keep a record of all your previous test papers, and analyze where you went wrong. Identify which topics you haven’t yet understood and spend more time on those while revising. Maybe you understand theory really well, but have a tough time applying it in practical problems –get help from a friend who is good at practical problems. It also helps to set a time schedule while you study to ensure you have time to cover all topics; You don’t want to study one topic really well and leave out 5 others. This strategy really works for the students who are in boarding schools and they always follow group study

Identify your learning style

Everyone has a different way in which they absorb and retain knowledge. The key to learning anything fast is to identify the best way to teach it to yourself. Maybe you are a visual learner, in which case colorful notes and images will stay in your mind. If you’re an auditory learner, discussions, and studying with a group of peers (who keep you focused and don’t distract you!) could work well for you. If you’re a hands-on learner, try to do experiments and demonstrations to understand the concept (as it is being taught in school, not the day before the exam) and record it through photos or videos and use those to revise. Try mnemonics, making funny songs out of keywords, anything that will make it fun and help you remember

Check out Previous Years’ Exam Papers

This is a really important step to cracking the exam because it will help you familiarise yourself with the kind of questions asked.

Stay Calm

Students sometimes panic and forget everything they’ve studied in the stressful exam environment. It is important to stay calm. Many students find that yoga and mindfulness meditation is helpful. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before the exam; don’t stay up all night cramming, you won’t remember a thing if your brain is sleep-deprived. Once you look at the questions, focus on the ones you know, and skip the ones you don’t know; you can come back to them in the end. Manage your time during the exam – don’t spend half an hour on an answer worth 2 marks!

Remember that your score does not define you

Always keep in mind that this score is an indication of your performance on that specific day and is not a judgment on your worth as a person. It’s not worth the anxiety and heartache and self-rejection you put yourself through. A year from now, no one will even care what score you got. Focus on quality learning and adding to your wealth of knowledge, you will likely enjoy your studies more

Why ICSE Could Be the Right Option for Your Child

Parents today face a dilemma when choosing the right curriculum for their children. ICSE, CBSE, IB, or state boards – which one will be best? Each syllabus has its pros and cons, and the choice will depend on a child’s academic inclinations and further education objectives. That being said, for many parents, ICSE is the preferred option because of the many advantages it offers students.

What Is ICSE?

ICSE stands for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education, which was established by the University of Cambridge. While the syllabus differs in various ways from that of the CBSE both in content and volume, ICSE stands out for its concept-based teaching pedagogy. More parents and students choose CBSE than any other curriculum, but ICSE has many definite benefits for students that opt for it.

The ICSE Advantage

Although many of the subjects taught in CBSE and ICSE are similar, the ICSE syllabus is far more comprehensive and varied than that of the CBSE and the state boards. It gives equal importance to all fields of study, and the focus is on students’ all-round development.

Because of this, it has far more international recognition and acceptance as compared to CBSE. ICSE marks carry more weight for overseas school and college admission as compared to other secondary certificate examinations.

A major plus point of ICSE is that these students typically have better English communication skills. This can be attributed to the fact that English Grammar and Literature are separate subjects in the ICSE curriculum. This often proves to be a significant benefit for those wishing to pursue further studies in humanities, the management or other fields were strong English communication abilities is a significant plus point.

Is ICSE Right For Your Child?

ICSE may be the right choice for some children but not for others, who may perform better with other curriculums. Making the right choice is imperative as the child’s schooling is a stepping stone to career success. A school that offers ICSE and other curriculums is ideal for undecided parents and their children and the guidance provided by the school can prove invaluable.