More than double the number of students from Bengal scored 95 per cent and above in aggregate in ISC (Class XII) 2025 compared to last year.
In the results announced on Wednesday, 2,170 students scored 95 per cent and above in Bengal. Last year, the figure was 1,041.
The ICSE and ISC results were published within 25 days of the completion of the exams.
In Bengal, the pass percentage is 98.76 in ICSE and 98.75 in ISC. In the country, the pass percentage in ICSE is 99.09 and 99.02 in ISC.
Joseph Emmanuel, the chief executive and secretary of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, said students’ familiarity with competency-based questions was growing, and the classroom transaction is changing from rote learning to one that promotes independent thinking.
“The idea of competency-based questions in board exams is to turn around the classroom transaction that would encourage creativity, independent thinking, and problem-solving skills,” said Emmanuel.
“The ability to apply the knowledge to real-life situations and answer in the examinations is growing,” he said.
Around 25 per cent of questions in ICSE and ISC this year were competency-based.
“The results break the notion that CISCE students don’t score well. This year, more than 20 per cent of students in ICSE and ISC scored above 90 per cent,” said Emmanuel.
In ICSE and ISC, over half of the students scored above 80 per cent, and 80 per cent of students scored above 60 per cent, said Emmanuel.
“CISCE standards are high compared to other boards in the country, and our schools prepare children well,” he said.
In Calcutta, several schools reported a better school average than last year.
In Modern High School, the school average in ISC is 94.57 this year, which was 91 per cent last year.
At La Martiniere for Girls, the ISC average is 92.26 per cent, which was 87.94 per cent last year.
At South City International School, the ISC average is 85.62 per cent, which was 81 per cent last year.
“Last year, students and teachers were grappling with the change in the assessment pattern. Now children have more help, and teachers have been trained, which has contributed to the better school average,” said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal, La Martiniere for Girls.
In ISC, three students in the country have scored a 100 per cent. Srijani from Calcutta, Aarav Bardhan and Ishmit Kaur from Mumbai have scored 100 in English and three other subjects.
Srijani wants to study basic sciences, she said. “I want to pursue physics or math and do research,” said the student of Future Foundation School.