As the national assessment regulator established by NCERT, Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH) aims to strengthen assessment practices. Digitisation supports this goal by reducing reliance on manual processes and enabling efficient tracking, review, and monitoring. It also enhances accountability …

The School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework (SQAAF) represents a significant step towards strengthening quality and excellence in schools. Developed to address the diverse needs of the education system, SQAAF provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating school performance across five key domains: Administration, Curriculum, Assessment, …

What does a report card say about a child? For years, it has largely answered one question: how much did the child score? But it rarely answers a more important one: who is the child becoming? Over time, students begin to see themselves as “good,” …

In most classrooms, assessment has long been reduced to marks, ranks, and report cards that reveal very little about the child behind the numbers. A student who scores well is often labeled “good,” while another who struggles in written tests is quickly judged otherwise. Such …

Very often, students study for the sake of studying. They move from one chapter to another, from one class to the next, without clearly understanding why they are learning. At a deeper level, this reflects a system that has long relied on rote learning. In …

Balanced Question Papers: Why Assessment Design MattersExaminations remain one of the most visible features of schooling. For many students, the question paper becomes the final representation of what the education system values. If a paper focuses largely on reproducing textbook information, learners naturally assume that …

In discussions on examination design, the idea of creating a “balanced question paper” is often interpreted in technical terms. Paper setters usually focus on balancing the types of questions included, such as multiple choice, short answer, and long answer questions. Balance may also refer to …

During a recent workshop conducted by PARAKH with teachers and question paper setters at the secondary level, the participants were asked to analyze previous year question papers from their respective state boards. Initially, the exercise generated considerable enthusiasm. Teachers began examining the structure of the …

India’s evolving education landscape has placed multilingualism at the heart of reform, and one of the most significant steps in this direction is being led by PARAKH. In alignment with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP, 2020), PARAKH is redefining how learning outcomes are assessed …

Rethinking the Foundations of Literacy in FLN Foundational Literacy and Numeracy is often discussed in terms of reading and writing outcomes. However, years of classroom experience and research remind us of a more basic truth. Literacy does not begin with print. It begins with listening, meaning-making, and …