Context:
A recent report by PARAKH, a unit established within NCERT to standardize assessments across school boards, recommends that students’ performance in Classes 9, 10, and 11—based on exams and continuous classwork—should contribute to their final marks at the end of Class 12. This recommendation aligns with the National Education Policy and aims to ensure common assessment standards, develop capacity, conduct achievement surveys, and establish equivalence among different school boards.
Relevance:
GS II: Government Policies and Interventions
Dimensions of the Article:
- PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development):
PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development):
Overview:
- Establishment: PARAKH was set up as the National Assessment Centre within the NCERT in 2023.
- Objective: To act as a national single-window source for all assessment-related information and expertise, aiding both national and global learning assessments.
Key Objectives:
- Setting Norms and Standards: To create and implement norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment as per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Major Focus Areas:
- Capacity Development in Competency-Based Assessment (Project Vidyasagar):
- Workshops: PARAKH organizes workshops across India to align educators with the National Curriculum Framework 2023.
- Goal: To address gaps in implementing competency-based learning and teaching.
- Large-Scale Achievement Survey:
- Survey Details: Conducted the State Educational Achievement Survey in November 2023, assessing students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 across 30 States/UTs.
- Purpose: To monitor and evaluate educational competencies in foundational literacy, numeracy, language, and mathematics.
- Equivalence of School Boards:
- Standardization: Working on standardizing examination reforms across all Indian school boards.
- Workshops and Reports: Data collection on administration, curriculum, assessments, and infrastructure. National workshops were held to draft policy recommendations for equivalence.
- Goal: To align credit points for academic, vocational, and experiential learning.
- Holistic Progress Cards (HPC):
- Evaluation Method: Moving away from marks or grades, HPC will use a 360-degree evaluation approach.
- Assessment: Regular assessments through class activities that require active student participation and application of diverse skills and competencies.
Significance:
- Addressing Score Disparities: Aims to mitigate score differences among students from various boards, impacting college admissions.
- Technical Standards: Establishes standards for test design, administration, analysis, and reporting at all schooling levels.
- 21st Century Skills: Encourages schools to adapt assessments to meet modern skill requirements.
Recommendations:
- Performance Weightage:
- Classes 9-12: Incorporate performance from Classes 9, 10, and 11 into the Class 12 report card with specified weightages: 15% for Class 9, 20% for Class 10, 25% for Class 11, and 40% for Class 12.
- Assessment Combination:
- Formative Assessments: Continuous assessments (e.g., holistic progress cards, group discussions, projects).
- Summative Assessments: Term-end examinations.
- Weight Distribution by Class:
- Class 9: 70% formative, 30% summative.
- Class 10: 50% formative, 50% summative.
- Class 11: 40% formative, 60% summative.
- Class 12: 30% formative, 70% summative.
- Credit System:
- Credits: Students can earn 40 credits in Classes 9 and 10 each, and 44 credits in Classes 11 and 12 each.
- Subject-Specific Credits: In Classes 9 and 10, 32 credits are subject-specific (e.g., 12 credits in languages, 4 in mathematics).
- Credit Transfer System:
- Recommendation: Development of a credit transfer system aligned with the National Credit Framework.
-Source: Indian Express
