Why in the News?
The Ministry of Education recently released the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan (RS) Report, an extensive nationwide student performance assessment for Grades 3, 6, and 9.
About PARAKH:
- Full Form: PARAKH stands for Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development.
- Establishment: It was established in 2023 as an autonomous institution under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
- Vision and Role: PARAKH functions as India’s national assessment regulator, aiming to standardize school-level assessments across states and boards.
- Policy Alignment: The initiative is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes competency-based, equitable, and inclusive learning.
- Core Objective: Its main objective is to develop norms, standards, and guidelines for assessing learning outcomes at the national level.
- Key Functions:
- Standardization of Boards: PARAKH seeks to ensure equivalence in academic standards across various state and central school boards.
- Assessment Focus: It designs and implements competency-based assessments, moving away from rote learning.
- Progress Tracking: The unit is responsible for developing Holistic Progress Cards across the Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary stages.
- Survey Execution: It conducts Large-Scale Achievement Surveys, such as the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan (RS) (formerly known as the National Achievement Survey (NAS) launched in 2021) to track student learning outcomes at scale.
Key Highlights of the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan (RS) Report – 2024:
- Scale of the Survey: Assessed over 21.15 lakh students from Grades 3, 6, and 9, across 74,229 schools in 781 districts.
- Top performers: Punjab, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu; low-performing districts were concentrated in Meghalaya, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
- In Grade 3, around 60–70% of students demonstrated basic reading, vocabulary, and early math skills, though many struggled with geometry and spatial reasoning.
- In Grade 6, fewer than 40% could solve real-life arithmetic problems or understand fractions, indicating gaps in conceptual understanding and application.
- In Grade 9, only 28–31% applied percentages or understood number systems; less than half grasped core civic and scientific concepts such as the Constitution, biodiversity, or electricity.
| [UPSC 2017] With reference to ‘National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)’, which of the statements given below is/are correct?
1. Under NSQF, a learner can acquire the certification for competency only through formal learning. 2. An outcome expected from the implementation of NSQF is the mobility between vocational and general education. Select the correct answer using the code given below: Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only* (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 |
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