Indian School Certificate

Indian School Certificate Examination

Acronym	ISC
Type	Paper-based academic tests.
Developer / administrator	Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations
Knowledge / skills tested	High-school level knowledge of 4, 5, or 6 academic subjects (English is compulsory).
Purpose	End-of-school (class 12) test for assessment of high school academic performance.
Year started	1926 (1926)
Duration	3 hours per subject (each subject on a different day).
Score / grade range	10-point
Score / grade validity	Life-long
Offered	Once annually (usually in March).
Countries / regions	Most test-takers in India. A few in other countries.
Languages	English
Annual no. of test takers	About 70,000 high school class 12 students every year.
Prerequisites / eligibility criteria	To be enrolled as a class 12 student in a high school affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.
Scores / grades used by	All organisations and individuals who use high school academic results for education, employment, or any other purpose.
Qualification rate	96.28% (in 2015)
Website	www.cisce.org

The Indian School Certificate (ISC) examinations are conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), for Grade 12 (i.e. 12th year of school). A student usually attempts this examination after first completing the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education in Grade 10, although the completion of a recognized equivalent level of education is normally sufficient. The examination has been designed to provide an evaluation in the field of general education. The exam criteria are in accordance with the recommendations of the Indian New Education Policy of 1986, through the medium of English and also regulated by University of Cambridge.

Examinations are conducted for English, which is a compulsory subject, and three to five other subjects of the candidate's choosing. Candidates usually choose one of three streams: arts and humanities, science, and commerce. Schools generally offer a limited subset of all available subjects, depending upon their logistical capabilities. Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) and practical tests are assessed internally by school teachers, while written tests are assessed externally by other examiners outside the school.

The Indian School Certificate is recognized by universities in the United Kingdom, so applicants are no longer required to obtain ‘A’ level qualifications or complete bridging courses, while seeking entry to universities in the UK and some other countries in the Commonwealth. The Indian School Certificate qualification is the only qualification from India that has been granted this special recognition.

The Indian School Certificate (until 1976) was treated as equivalent to pre-university examinations in Indian universities for admission to university undergraduate studies, except for professional courses in engineering and medicine. After 1976, Indian School Certificate was treated equivalent to all higher secondary certificate examinations for admission to all university undergraduate studies, including professional studies.

Although the majority of schools affiliated to the CISCE are in India, a number of schools in other countries with large Non-Resident Indian populations also offer the ICSE and ISC examinations.

The examination is usually conducted in March. Results are declared in May.

Subjects Offered in the ISC

Compulsory Subject

English (801)

Indian Languages

Subject	Subject Code
Assamese	817
Bengali	803
Dzongkha	819
Gujarati	804
Hindi	805
Kannada	806
Khasi	807
Mizo	808
Malayalam	809
Manipuri	818
Marathi	810
Nepali	811
Oriya	812
Punjabi	813
Tamil	814
Telugu	815
Urdu	816
Lepcha	821

Modern Foreign Languages

Subject	Subject Code
Chinese	826
French	828
German	829
Tibetan	835
Spanish	836

Classical Languages

Subject	Subject Code
Arabic	837
Sanskrit	838
Persian	839

Elective English (850)

History (851)

Political Science (852)

Geography (853)

Sociology (854)

Psychology (855)

Economics (856)

Commerce (857)

Accounts (858)

Business Studies (859)

Mathematics (860)

Physics (861)

Chemistry (862)

Biology (863)

Home Science (864)

Fashion Designing (865)

Electricity & Electronics (866)

Engineering Science (867)

Computer Science (868)

Geometrical & Mechanical Drawing (869)

Geometrical & Building Drawing (870)

Art (871)

Music

Subject	Subject Code
Indian Music (Hindustani)	872
Indian Music (Carnatic)	873
Western Music	874

Physical Education (875)

Environmental Science (877)

Biotechnology (878)

Discontinued

Subject	Subject Code
Business Mathematics	876
Environmental Education	802

Possible subject combinations

The lists given below are only suggestive. Students may take different combinations of their own choosing.

Pre-law: English, History, Economics, Political Science, and Sociology.

Pre-medicine: English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

Pre-engineering:

• Computer science, electrical engineering, and related: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Electricity & Electronics, and Computer Science.
• Biotechnology and related: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Biotechnology.
• Mechanical engineering and related: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Geometrical & Mechanical Drawing.

Pre-architecture: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Geometrical & Building Drawing.

Pre-civil service: English, History, Economics, Political Science, and Geography.

Pre-accounting: English, Accounts, Mathematics, Economics, and Commerce.

Pre-business: English, Accounts, Mathematics, Economics, Commerce and Business Studies.

ISC examination first rankers

Year	Student Name	Aggregate Score	School
2012	Rohan Sampath	99.5	Dubai Modern High School, Dubai, UAE
2013	Bhuvanya Vijay	99	St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun, India
2014	Ayush Banerjee	99.25	Loyola School, Jamshedpur, India
2015	Arkya Chatterjee	99.75	Vivekananda Mission School, Kolkata, India

See also

• Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), India
• Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), India

External links

• Official website of CISCE