The decision of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to do away with the Problem Solving Assessment (PSA) test in classes IX and XI from this year has come as a relief for students.

PSA was a logical reasoning exam, held in place of Formative Assessment (FA)-IV that tested students' critical thinking abilities. Schools say the move will be of help to students to score well in the classes IX and XI final exam.

"PSA, introduced from the 2012-2013 academic batch in CBSE schools, has an exam paper pattern that consists of 60 multiple choice questions to be answered in two hours. PSA tests the students' reasoning, analytical and logical thinking skills. Divided into qualitative reasoning, quantitative reasoning and language convention, the PSA exam is not based on a specific subject, but rather focuses on testing the students' problem solving skills," said Rama Sharma, public relation officer of CBSE.

She added: "Earlier, schools had the FA-IV, which was replaced by PSA. FAs are combination of written exam and interesting evaluation methods. It could be an activity, a project or a different approach for tests."

Explaining the marking scheme of classes IX and XI, the vice-principal of Gyan Niketan School, Shailendra Mohan Jha, said 10 per cent of PSA and 30 per cent of three FAs are added in the score of the final exam. "While the average marks scored in FA in 2014 in both classes IX and XI were 90 per cent in PSA, the same students managed just about 40-45 per cent in PSA. PSA is totally based on general knowledge multiple choice questions and FAs are related to respective subjects," said Jha.

"This was a major hindrance for students. Some students are good at some subjects only and it was a big loss for them. But FA-IV, instead of PSA, is a good initiative," said Sister Jessi, principal of Notre Dame Academy. Schools also had problems preparing students for PSA, since it was not curriculum-oriented.

Students, hopefully, will pay more attention to their syllabus rather than solving complicated questions. Pranav Shanker, a Class X student of Loyola High School, said: "In the Class IX final exam, I scored very well in all subjects. But in PSA test, I scored 38 per cent, which hampered my final result. I am glad that PSA was removed, as now it will be easy to score in Class XI."

"After Class VIII, students start preparing themselves for competitive exam and he syllabus of Class IX is very hectic," said Muskan Kumari, a Class IX student of Bishop Scott Girls' School.

"It is difficult for me to solve reasoning and analytical questions. I am happy with the board's decision," she added.