The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations on Monday said that it has changed the pass mark criteria for the examinations it conducts to “bring about a close uniformity with other boards in the country”.

Now, the pass marks for ICSE examinations, which students have to clear to qualify to study in the higher secondary level, will be 33% instead of 35% while students need to score 35% instead of 40% to get the school-leaving certificate after Class 12. While the change will come into effect from the next academic year, the council advised schools to implement it in the internal examinations from the 2018-’19.

The decision to change the pass mark criteria was, the council said, one of the recommendations of the Inter-Board Working Group, comprising members of other examination boards. The working group was set up the Ministry of Human Resources Development.