PARAKH, the national assessment centre and an independent constituent unit under the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT), has rolled out a nationwide plan for monthly, competency-based teaching and assessments to address learning gaps identified in the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan (PRS) 2024, moving the focus from measuring student performance to improving it.
The post-survey exercise is intended to help states and districts use the reports to plan interventions, rather than treat the assessment as a one-time measurement. The framework states that district teams should review the reports, identify competencies requiring attention and draw up action steps, timelines, responsibilities and evidence of progress. Monthly cycle of teaching and assessment The centrepiece of the framework presented to education officials during the workshop is a five-step monthly cycle: identify learning gaps; plan interventions; deliver targeted classroom instruction; assess students; and report results.
The officials of Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH) presented the framework to more than 600 state and district education officials of all states and Union territories during a series of workshops at NCERT’s National Institute of Education (NIE) auditorium in New Delhi from September 18 to 30. The framework, seen by HT, envisages district-level action plans across 781 districts in all 36 states and UTs, with education officials identifying weak competencies, setting monthly learning targets and tracking whether remedial teaching is helping students improve through periodic assessments.
“PRS results act as diagnostic signals, not final judgments,” said Professor Indrani Bhaduri, CEO and head of PARAKH. “The workshops at the national, regional, state, and district levels are being organised to disseminate results, analyse key insights, and develop targeted action plans” to improve learning, she said.
District academic teams are to select poorly performing competencies across subjects and school stages. Teachers will then focus on these areas through classroom activities, remedial tools and regional-language material, including resources from PARAKH’s Global Activity Bank. The framework also calls for using the digital Holistic Progress Card (HPC) to track student development beyond test scores. The portal is designed to capture progress across cognitive, foundational and socio-emotional domains through self-, peer- and teacher assessment.
