National Science Talent Search Examination ( NSTSE ) Olympiad Entrance Examination

NSTSE Stands for National Level Science Talent Search Examination It is a scientifically designed, skill-based assessment developed in India for Indian schools after a detailed study of the syllabi of different central and state boards. Unified Council is India’s leading scientific assessment organization. National Level Science Talent Search Examination NSTSE has been providing a strong foundation to the younger generation and helping them to succeed.

NSTSE is a diagnostic test which actually helps students improve. Unlike regular tests which try only to find out how much a child knows (or has memorized), NSTSE measures how well a student has understood concepts and gives detailed feedback on the same, to help them improve. Thus NSTSE helps each student know whether he/she has actually understood a concept early on so that immediate action can be taken. School tests - including board exams - tend to be superficial, testing what children have memorized. But the important skills like the ability to think independently and reason logically - critical in today's world - are often not emphasized in school tests.

NSTSE 2021 Exam Pattern

NSTSE Exam Pattern of 2018 - 2019:

The exam is conducted for class 1 to class 12 for the students from participating schools.
- NOTE: Class 2 to 12 for Individual / Direct applicants. Class 1 students can't appear as a direct applicant.
There will be a different Question Paper for each class.
All the questions are objective-type with no negative marking for wrong answers.
NSTSE will be based on the CBSE syllabus. 85% of the Syllabus considered for setting the NSTSE Question Paper
NSTSE Question Papers are also suitable for Students of ICSE/ISC and Various State Board/Matriculation Syllabus.

Class	No. of Questions	Marks	Durations
2	50	50	90 Minutes
3 - 12	60 Each	60 Each	90 Minutes

Division of marks in the Question Paper :
For Class 1:
Mathematics: 25
General Science: 15

For Class 2:
Mathematics: 25
General Science: 25

For Classes 3 & 5:
Mathematics: 25
General Science: 30
Critical Thinking: 05

For Classes 6 to 10:
Mathematics: 25
Physics: 10
Chemistry: 10
Biology: 10
Critical Thinking: 05

For Classes 11 & 12 (PCM)
Mathematics: 25
Physics: 15
Chemistry: 15
Critical Thinking: 05

For Classes 11 & 12 (PCB)
Biology: 25
Physics: 15
Chemistry: 15
Critical Thinking: 05

Note: Critical Thinking section includes a complex combination of skills like conscious application in real life, Logical & Inductive Reasoning, Tactics & Strategies in decision making, Subjective & Objective analysis.