The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will introduce open-book examinations for Class 9 no earlier than the 2026-27 academic year. This was the outcome from a trial conducted in previous years that indicated strong teacher support for open book examinations and their capacity to move away from conventional rote learning toward critical thinking.
Students are tested on their understanding and integration of concepts with open-book exams because they require more than rote memorization and students need to look up information in textbooks, class notes, or even in the library. This initiative was approved by the CBSE Governing Body and is consistent with the NCFSE 2023 and NEP 2020 which both emphasize a shift towards competency-based education.
Teachers indicated that students required a lot of support and resources to creatively apply knowledge, despite the mixed results that were observed in a pilot study conducted in late 2023. Teacher attitudes toward open-book examinations were more enthusiastic, even if students were performing at a significantly lower grade. Emphasis was placed in the pilot on integration of themes from multiple disciplines instead of the traditional ‘more is better’ approach to content.
Elaborate actions for developing standardized sample papers are now on the agenda of CBSE. These samples will serve to test all the necessary skills.
Schools may not be required to implement open-book exams at this moment, but a guideline will be made available to assist them with this assessment type should they wish to adopt it. The successful implementation of open-book evaluations will, however, demand that schools build their capability infrastructure because such exams test a student's higher-order thinking skills.
This initiative aims to resolve issues of test anxiety, encourages learners to apply their knowledge, and address real-life challenges. This is a radical shift from as older, traditional, rote learning-driven tests to examinations designed to measure a learner’s comprehension, to apply knowledge, and think critically.
From 2014 to 2017, CBSE experimented with a format called Open Text Based Assessment (OTBA), which they abandoned as it was not successful. This update is an effort to refine the development of critical thinking and analytical skills during the primary educational stages of learners.