List Of All Tests Conducted In India Till 12th Standard

When I started researching to write about the tests conducted for students till 12th standard, I got completely shaken by the sheer number. There are entrance tests like IIT JEE, AIPMT and CLAT. There are scholarship tests like NTSE. Then there are assessment tests and Olympiads. I also found that there is no one place where students can get information about all these tests. I, for sure, did not know about any of these except the state engineering exam and the prestigious IIT JEE. I think this problem applies to majority of students. With this multi-part series of articles I will try to cover details on all these tests that are conducted in India.

Here is the rough roadmap of articles what will be covered in this series (non-necessarily in this order)

1. Introduction to the series of articles on test preparation in India (this one)
2. Engineering Entrance Exams – Joint Entrance Exam (ISEET, former IIT JEE and AIEEE), BITSAT, CET and other state engineering exams
3. Medical Entrance Exams – AIIMS, AIPMT, AFMC, NEET and other state medical tests
4. Common Law Entrance Exams (CLAT)
5. National Defense Academy (NDA)
6. Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA)
7. National Talent Search Examination (NTSE)
8. Olympiads – There is a big list. But can it can be categorized based on organizations that conduct these  - Science Olympiad Foundation – (NCO, NSO, IMO, IEO), Unified Council – (NSTSE, UCO, SLSTSE), Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojna (KYPY), Indian Association of Physics Teachers and Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (NSEA, NSEJS, NSEP, NSEC, NSEB, RMO), Silverzone (IIO, IOM, IOS, IOEL) and Indian Association for Research in Computer Science (ZIO)
9. Assessment Tests – International Assessment for Indian Schools (IAIS), Assessment OF Scholastic Skills Through Educational Testing (ASSET)
10. Others - Other interesting competitions like Google Science Fair, Lego League etc

Majority of these tests have one thing in common. These tests stress on the application of concepts rather than the concepts per se. So deep understanding of concepts is required. Some of these also focus on reasoning, critical thinking, data interpretation and text comprehension – some skills that are needed in real life. Another important factor I noticed in these tests is the gamification ingrained in them – one solves problems like playing a game, crossing one level after another. The marks provide continuous feedback and the objective type answers make it easier to keep a scorecard like that in a game. That is the reason perhaps why these tests are more interesting to students than regular board exams. The tests are standardized so one can score well after good amount of practice.

We will cover general information about the exams like the syllabus and subjects, eligibility, exam dates, application process, website etc. So keep watching this space for the follow up articles.