Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills serve as the cornerstone upon which a child’s educational journey is built. Much like the solid foundation of a house ensures its stability and strength, these fundamental skills establish the framework for all future learning endeavours. They form the basis for critical thinking, creativity, and lifelong learning and are interwoven with other subject areas, serving as integral components of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
While over the years, there have been some improvements in learning outcomes of students, the trends continue to remain alarming. According to a World Bank assessment, in India, around 50% of the children lack foundational learning, and by the time they reach grade 5, it becomes difficult for them to grasp the teaching and learn as per the grade level. Furthermore, ASER 2022 reveals that only 25.6% learners from grade 5 in rural India are able to do basic division.
National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN) Bharat mission strives to create an enabling environment to ensure the universal acquisition of FLN, so that every child achieves the desired learning by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27. Among its eight goals, two emphasise Learning Assessments to continuously monitor children’s progress comprehensively.
These assessments are pivotal in measuring and enhancing FLN outcomes over time. They raise awareness about varying learning levels among stakeholders, pinpoint children’s needs, and highlight necessary changes in pedagogy and classroom management. Effective assessments are central to providing quality data on the performance of our education system and ranking states based on learning outcomes. They illuminate learning levels, prompting adjustments for improved learning trajectories and advocating for better governance. Furthermore, assessments inform critical funding decisions aimed at realising desired learning outcomes.
Assessment during foundational learning can be broadly categorised into two major areas: School-Based Assessments and Large-Scale Assessments including LFE-BELIEF Student Assessments, National Achievement Survey (NAS), Foundational Learning Study (FLS) and Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). To develop and implement these tools on a large scale, various public actors such as the Ministry of Education (MoE), the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT), and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have made significant contributions over time. Moreover, private stakeholders from both profit and non-profit sectors have enriched the assessment landscape.
However, a serious problem persists with most of these assessments relying on pen and paper formats. Conducted by evaluators on a one-to-one basis, they pose challenges related to scaling, logistics, and cost. The qualifications of evaluators also present a challenge, and the captured data is not always first-hand. Additionally, the turnaround time for processing data from pen-and-paper tests is lengthy. Over the past decade, there has been a growing adoption of computer-based and tablet-based assessments, particularly evident in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), where a majority of countries now opt for the computer-based format.
In India, although some assessments and impact evaluations have been conducted digitally, progress has been slow due to factors such as cost, the digital divide, and insufficient policy support. Digital assessments offer numerous advantages over paper-based assessments, including paperless test distribution and data collection, enhanced security to prevent cheating, standardised test administration, provision of standardised tools for examinees (e.g., calculators and dictionaries), and the opportunity for more interactive question types.
Technology effectively addresses concerns about the quality of analysed data in digital assessments. Reduced chances of copying between students or mass assistance from teachers are evident benefits. Moreover, adapting the testing difficulty based on students’ initial responses allows for the acquisition of richer student data by mitigating ceiling and floor effects typically experienced. Additionally, they open up avenues for utilising analytics, enabling students and teachers to analyse their data and access various tools that support their classroom strategies, ultimately enhancing the management of the teaching and evaluation process.
Impact Evaluation of Educational Programmes and Projects
Impact evaluation is an assessment of how the intervention being evaluated affects outcomes, whether these effects are intended or unintended. While the government should have assessment-related expertise, it also needs third party assessments and the ability to benchmark nationally and internationally as relevant. These evaluations are not only necessary to measure student learning outcomes but also measuring process evaluation through qualitative methods. The former gives learning insights at grade & subject level for strengthening future academic aspects of the programme and analyses comparative impact on the student learning outcomes across grade levels.
Further to this, they give data-driven insights on outcomes & impact to inform decision-making & drive improvements. The latter type of assessments identify the strengths and gaps in classroom teaching practices against the set norms and give a picture of how the mission is understood within the government and other stakeholders.
The digital transformation of teaching and learning has outpaced assessment. Digital tools are freeing, encouraging innovation and allowing academics to design assessments that are laser-targeted on measuring learning outcomes. Online assessments can be tailored to make learning for students and upskilling of candidates more personalised and effective and help them to achieve the best.
In the digital age, India must use digitised learning solutions and platforms to remain competitive, streamline and expand the quality and flexibility of the assessment process, and create sustainable, unbiased, and fair educational solutions.
Mahek Nankani is Lead, Growth & Partnerships at The Educational Initiatives. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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