Only 1.07 per cent of the 4,30,286 successful candidates in the state higher secondary exams scored 90 per cent or more in aggregate, the results declared on Wednesday shows.
Altogether 7,307 candidates got the “O” grade (90 to 100 per cent in aggregate, the highest grade).
The number of students who got the highest grade last year was 8,331.
The HS council said the drop was normal as the number of candidates writing the school leaving exam was much lower this year. Last year, the number of successful candidates was 6,67,784. This year, the figure is 4,30,286.
The number of candidates from Bengal who scored 90 per cent or above in aggregate in ISC exams this year stands at 6,014.
The number of successful candidates in the ISC exams from Bengal stood at 27,456. This means the percentage of students getting the highest grade in the ISC council was 21.09 per cent.
The statistics suggest that students from the Delhi boards may have an advantage over state board students while securing college seats.
The HS council president said that when students of the state board write the Class XII examinations under the semester system next year, the number of students obtaining the highest grade will substantially rise.
“The students admitted in Class XI last year under the semester system will write the Class XII board examinations next year. The publication of the results on Wednesday marked the last year of the plus-II courses under the annual system,” said council president Chiranjeeb Bhattacharya.
“The semester system, which has evenly distributed the study load, is all set to push up the number of high scorers because the student will focus more on target-oriented studies,” said Bhattacharya.
In the semester system, the council will test students entirely on multiple-choice questions in the first and third semesters. In the second and fourth semesters, students have to answer a mix of short-answer and descriptive questions.
In 2018, only 0.79 per cent of the 6,63,000 successful candidates had secured the highest grade.
In the past seven years, 2022 witnessed the highest number of “O” scorers.
The council president refused to attach much importance to the 2022 data, given that the examinees wrote the papers from their schools (home centres).
The percentage of students who got the A+ grades (80-89 per cent) and the A grade (70-79) increased in 2025 compared with last year. This year, the percentage of students securing the “A+” grade rose to 10.25 from last year’s 8.53.