The Higher Secondary council has decided to introduce percentiles in the Class XII exam results this year to match boards like the CBSE.

The move will help an examinee understand better where he or she stands vis-à-vis the performance of the other candidates that year.

Beginning this year, the IITs will admit only students who figure in the top 20 percentile of their respective boards, apart from clearing the entrance test of course.

Candidates who do well in JEE but don’t feature in the top 20 percentile in the board exam would not be considered for IIT and other centrally-funded institutes, a decision taken to encourage students to focus on their Class XII exams as much as they do on cracking the entrance test.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the HS council on Thursday. “It was unanimously decided to introduce a system of calculating the percentile scores of HS examinees from this year. The mark sheets of students will mention the percentile score along with numerical marks, grand total and grades,” council president Muktinath Chatterjee said.

The change still requires the school education department’s approval. “We will forward the proposal to the department on Monday,” Chatterjee said.

An individual’s percentile is calculated by dividing the number of examinees who have scored less than him or her by the total number of candidates. The result is then multiplied by 100 (see chart).

Some institutes in the country and abroad require applicants to mention their percentile score in the Class XII exam while seeking admission. The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations gives percentile scores to students on request.

The mention of percentile scores on a student’s mark sheet will also benefit those who don’t aim to study engineering, say experts. It will also somewhat neutralise the subjective element in evaluation of answer scripts across boards. Higher Secondary candidates have often complained that their evaluators are tight-fisted compared to those in other boards when it comes to giving marks or grades. The percentile system will make it easier for institutions to assess a student’s performance in the context of the overall standard in a given year.

“A student with 89 and another with 90 get two different grades, A and A+ respectively, which makes a big difference during admission. The percentile system can eliminate such discrepancies,” the principal said.

The expert committee on school education constituted by the Mamata Banerjee government recommended the percentile system in its report last year. “It is a globally accepted formula and the prevalent method. It is necessary to upgrade our system to bring it on a par with international standards,” said Avik Mazumder, chairman of the committee.