ICSE Full Form: Know ICSE Subjects and Marking Scheme

ICSE Full Form: Students who wish to join the CISCE board often wonder what is the ICSE syllabus full form. The full form of ICSE board in English is the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education. The ICSE full form in Hindi is ‘माध्यमिक शिक्षा के भारतीय प्रमाण पत्र’. It is a board formed to conduct annual examinations for the students of Class 10 in schools affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE).

The board was formed to provide examinations based on the general academic curriculum, with the commendations of the 1986 Education Policy. It is a private board for school education in India with English as the only medium of instruction and examination. Read on to know more about the ICSE meaning, full form, syllabus, marking scheme, and differences from the CBSE board.

ICSE Full Form: Overview of the ICSE Board

As stated earlier, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) is a private, non-governmental board of school education in India that conducts the ICSE/ISC exam every year for students of schools affiliated with the Council. The ICSE syllabus is divided into 3 groups: Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Group 1 contains four compulsory subjects. Students have to select 2 or 3 subjects from Group 2 and 1 subject from Group 3. 

There is no provision for private students to appear for the ICSE/ISC board exam; only regular students can appear for it. The ICSE syllabus is comprehensive and logically structured. Its goal is to imbibe students with analytical skills, problem-solving skills, and practical knowledge in various fields. Before getting into further details, let us have an overview of the exam:

Subjects/Groups in ICSE Board

The subjects in the ICSE Board exam can be classified into three categories/groups – Group I, Group II, and Group III. Here we have given the complete list of group-wise subjects which you’ll learn in the ICSE curriculum. Let us now look at the subjects under each of these groups.

ICSE Subjects: Group I

All subjects under Group I are compulsory for all students:

ICSE Subjects: Group II

Students have to select any two or three subjects from this category:

ICSE Subjects: Group III

Students have to choose any one of the subjects from this group:

ICSE Full Form: ICSE Board Class 10 Marking Scheme

The marking scheme helps students get an idea about the overall marks distribution for all the subjects. With the help of ICSE Board Class 10 Marking Scheme, students can plan their studies accordingly to give more emphasis on important topics. The marking scheme of all the subjects from all three groups is mentioned below.

To help you with your preparation we have given books for all subjects of all grades for free of cost. Make the best use of ICSE books offered by Embibe for free.

CBSE vs ICSE Full Form

Candidates may be aware of ICSE & CBSE full forms. Those looking for information about ICSE might want to know the differences between the full form of CBSE and ICSE. Here are a few important points of on CBSE vs ICSE:

1. CBSE syllabus of Class 10 is concise whereas the ICSE syllabus is extensive.
2. As various competitive exams like NTSE, JEE Main, NEET, etc. follow the CBSE syllabus, students under this board find it easier to prepare for these exams. On the other hand, ICSE students find it easier to prepare for management exams and exams like IELTS and TOEFL.
3. ICSE has a wider range of subjects to choose from than CBSE.
4. ICSE is considered more difficult than CBSE.
5. CBSE follows a nine-point scale grading system. In ICSE, results are declared as marks/percentages.
6. The medium of instruction in ICSE is only English whereas CBSE follows both English and Hindi.
7. Both private and regular students can appear for the CBSE exam, whereas only regular students from CISCE-affiliated schools can appear for the ICSE exam.
8. More scholarships and talent search examinations are conducted by CBSE compared to the ICSE board.
9. The number of schools following the CBSE syllabus is more in number compared to that of the ICSE syllabus.

Benefits and Other Advantages of ICSE Board

Now that you know what ICSE’s full form is, let us take a look at what are the advantages of studying under the ICSE Board. The main benefits of studying under the ICSE board are given below:

1. Candidates are trained to study a vast syllabus in depth which increases their efficiency.
2. ICSE concentrates more on internal assessments and believes it to be very essential for a candidate’s mental development.
3. ICSE syllabus and teaching make a student fit for the corporate world. They tend to be a good manager in the future with good leadership qualities.
4. Only Regular students of CISCE board affiliated schools can attend the ICSE exam. Private candidates cannot appear for the ICSE exam.
5. ICSE Board focuses on the candidate’s overall growth.
6. The board offers flexibility in selecting subjects.
7. It aims to convey analytical skills, problem-solving skills, and practical knowledge to the students.
8. ICSE board gives more emphasis to use the English language as the medium of instruction in the schools. Students passing out of the ICSE board exam has an edge when appearing for TOEFL, IELTS, and other exams, where the English language is a parameter to get entry to foreign universities.
9. ICSE Board focuses more on teaching English literature and language skills, which is beneficial for the overall personality of a student.
10. Almost all schools and colleges across the world accept the ICSE board marks.

ICSE Preparation Tips and Practice Tests

It is important to note that despite the differences between ICSE and CBSE, ICSE students can prepare for and crack competitive exams like NTSE, Olympiads, and so on with ease. The basic syllabus of subjects like Science and Maths are almost the same. With proper practice of questions, ICSE students can definitely crack these exams.

Since the ICSE syllabus is similar to CBSE, you can practice solving these mock tests and practise questions to score high marks on the exam.

ISC Full Form: What is ISC Board?

We already discussed what ICSE’s full form is and what are the subjects covered in the ICSE syllabus. Now, let us look at ISC which deals with the Class 12 Board examinations for students registered under CISCE. The full form of ISC is Indian School Certificate. It is an annual board exam conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) for students of Class 12.

The ISC exam is considered tough and there are more chances to get admission to A-Level colleges for graduation compared to students from other boards. The basic difference between ICSE and ICS exam is that ICSE stands for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education which holds the board exam for Class 10. ISC stands for Indian school certificate and the examination is conducted by the ICSE for Class XII.

Since English is a compulsory subject in ISC Class 12 board exam, students from the ISC board have better communication skills and they can crack various English tests with ease. The mode of exam is offline and only in English medium, except for the language subjects. Moreover, only Class 12 students who attend a full-time class at any of the CISCE affiliated schools are eligible to appear for the ISC exam.

List of ISC Board Subjects

Let’s see all the subjects in the ISC board exam:

Related Links:

FAQs Related to ICSE Full Form

Here we have provided some of the frequently asked questions related to the full form of the ICSE board:

So, now you know all about ICSE’s full form, syllabus, marking scheme, and its benefits. The article also explains the differences between CBSE and ICSE. Various resources and study material are also provided. Make the best use of these things and crack your exam with flying colours.

We hope this detailed article on ICSE’s full form helps you. If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to ask in the comment section below. We will get back to you at the earliest. Stay tuned to Embibe to get the latest updates about ICSE Full Form.