Commerce stream is the most popular stream for students after grade 10. This stream is a beautiful mixture of Mathematical and theoretical subjects and thus fits in the interest area of many students. Traditionally Commerce was given to students who were average in studies and were thought to be not too bright. This is a wrong method of choice of any stream after 10^th. This can be simply proved wrong by looking at people who are in helm of profession in the areas of Banking and Financial Analysis. The entire world deals with numbers, and professionals from commerce background make one of the finest people to understand and deal with it.

Commerce stream should be the right choice in Indian education system for students who possess the following qualities in grade 10:

1. Good at Math (my research benchmark is around 70 marks in grade 10) and likes economics, with interest in Business Transactions.
2. Should possess good analytical skills.
3. Should have Liking for numbers.
4. Should be comfortable with data analysis.
5. Should be ready to work in an environment which involves solitary working.

IB Board is followed by CIE or IGCSE (regulated by Cambridge Assessment International Education. While International General Certificate of Secondary Education deals with Std. 10 and AS and A Levels deal with std. 11 and 12 respectively) in its practical approach of pedagogy. This board also gives good number of Elective subject choices offering something for all learners of different abilities, interests and backgrounds. It focuses on developing vital educational knowledge, understanding and skills. Again, it is considered to be tougher than other national boards, because of advanced level of learning and the teaching methodology.

In this Board also, there is no concept of stream selection after 10^th like Science, Commerce or Humanities/Arts. The candidate has to pick up subjects of his/her choice and then the choice available for graduation depends upon the eligibility of various graduate courses available.

Subjects available in IGCSE Board (Tentative List, may vary from school to school)

Source: http://www.cie.org.uk

ISC board comes next in the difficulty level. This board also follows quite a bit of practical learning approach though reference books and the pedagogy is less rote oriented. In this board, the first level of selection of stream takes place after grade 8 i.e. Science or Commerce or Humanities. If you have taken Science, you can shift to any other stream after 10^th but Vice versa is not allowed by most of the schools.

Second level of stream selection takes place after 10^th. The options available are Science-A Group, Science-B Group, Commerce or Humanities/Arts. The candidate has to pick up Compulsory subjects of commerce stream and can choose 1 or 2 electives as per the offer of various schools.

Subjects available for Commerce in ISC Board (Tentative List& may vary from school to school)

Source: cisce.org/isc_XII_Syllabus.aspx

Next in the difficulty scale comes the CBSE board. I think most of us are aware of this board. This board is a good mix of practical and rote oriented Pedagogy. It functions under the Union Government of India. Difficulty level associated with this board is moderate.

Subjects available for Commerce in CBSE Board (Tentative List& may vary from school to school)

Source: cbse.nic.in

Last comes State Boards. Each State in India has its own education board. It functions under the respective State Government of each state. Language of instruction (medium) in case of schools affiliated to such boards may be regional language and English. This board in most cases is found to be rote oriented. There is no much creativity and flexibility allowed in the method of pedagogy. Also the children studying through vernacular medium in state boards are at risk of not fairing too well in National level competitive Exams.

Subjects available for Commerce in State Board (Tentative List & may vary from school to school)

If a child is good with Math at grade 10 level (my research benchmark says 80%+), I highly recommend that the child keep mathematics subject in grade 11 and 12. Mathematics will support the child in pursuing higher professional certifications and also if the child wishes to go in the area of Economics or Business management.