What is CGPA?

CGPA is referred to as a cumulative grade point average. It was introduced in the CCE or Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation System for Class X. CGPA gives the average grade point of the student performance in all the subjects excluding the additional Subject. The subject wise performance of the students is recorded in forms of Grades.

When did it get introduced in CBSE?

Before 2011, the Central Board of Secondary Education had criteria for rewarding marks. In 2011, it replaced the criteria to the CGPA system.

Why is it used?

The CGPA is used to denote the overall performance of the student in the academic session as grades. The CGPA system was introduced to ease the burden of marks and the stress of the examinations among students. Due to this reason, the CGPA system is also used in some of the bachelor's and Master's Degree.

Pros and Cons of using CGPA

The CGPA system defines the grades of a student in its academics. Although, it has some pros and cons.

Pros

• The CGPA system has introduced grading which has reduced the pressure of scoring higher marks as the marks are not written on the report cards.
• The attention to different subjects can be given to different subjects as per the grades. Capability and Performance of subjects can be determined easily.
• The students can be divided into different categories. This makes it easier for teachers to pay attention to different groups accordingly.
• It provides the students with a clear idea of their strengths and weakness in academics.

Cons

• The CGPA system eradicates the sense of competition which is the basis of motivation for some of the students. By removing the competition, the students may aim for clearing only the grades and not scoring higher.
• The result is not accurate. Grades don't show the performance of the students accurately. In the CGPA system, 91 marks are also A1 and 100 marks are also A1. Similarly, a score of 89 is A2 and 92 is A1 which is a big difference in the grade but only differs by 3 marks in reality.
• In the CCE system, the activities and projects are also responsible for the Grades of a student. So, a student might get higher grades just by performing better in activities and not in Examinations.

How is it different from GPA?

GPA is grade point average which signifies the grades obtained by the student in the semester or term. CGPA is different from GPA as CGPA is the grades obtained by the student over the course or an entire year. Though GPA and CGPA both evaluate the measure of abilities of a student, CBSE has the curriculum which determines the CGPA only but not the GPA. While the colleges which use the CGPA system calculate the GPA of the students too. Different colleges have different criteria for giving GPA to the students. The basic feature of the GPA and CGPA remains the same that GPA is for Grades obtained over a term and CGPA is Grades obtained over the course or whole year.

Why is it better or worse than Percentage?

It can't be concluded that one of the systems is good or bad, but some facts can be taken into consideration. Both the systems have its pros and cons.

• The CGPA system is not accurate since it doesn't gives exact the details of the marks obtained by the student.
• But it relieves the students from scoring higher and rather focus on learning in an enhanced way.

Just like a coin, everything in this world has two faces, a good one and a bad one. Thus, these system also have some pros and cons which make them good and bad both. But, both the system works on enhancing the academics of a student and both are good in either way.

How to calculate CGPA?

The Central Board of Secondary Education has a curriculum where 5 subjects are compulsary and one is optional.

• TO CALCULATE AVERAGE CGPA
Assume the grade points of the 5 subjects as:
S1,S2,S3,S4,S5
Grade point(GP)=S1+S2+S3+S4+S5
CGPA=GP/5

EXAMPLE:
Subject 1 Grades= 10
Subject 2 Grades=9
Subject 3 Grades=10
Subject 4 Grades=8
Subject 5 Grades=10
GP=10+9+10+8+10=47
"CGPA=47/5=9.4"

• TO CALCULATE PERCENTAGE USING CGPA OBTAINED
Percentage=(CGPAx9.5)

EXAMPLE:
CGPA=9.4
Percentage=9.4x9.5=89.3

• TO CALCULATE CGPA USING THE PERCENTAGE
CGPA=(Percentage/9.5)

EXAMPLE:
Percentage=89.3
CGPA=89.3/9.5=9.4

GRADE TABLE:

International views and opinions on CGPA

There are several grading systems used around the world which are similar to the CGPA system used by the CBSE.

• In England and Wales, the GCSE board uses a grading system where grades range from 9(highest) to 1(lowest). Generally, a 4 and above is considered a pass and 3 and lower as fail.
• Most colleges and Universities in the United States have a grading system where grades are awarded as A to F. These grades are converted to GPA.
• In Japan, 90-100 marks are equal to grade AA or T, 80-89 are equal to A, 70-79 are equal to B, 60-69 are equal to C and below that F which is Fail.