GURUGRAM: Ashna Jain just got into Class 12.
The all-important board exams are a year away, at least, but the 17-year-old feels they are upon her already.
It’s a feeling that students who have just begun their final year in Plus 2 would share.
Never before has Class XII begun with such urgency.
And pressure.
It’s the assessment system – the 30-30-40 formula – adopted for the final Class XII results of the current (2020-21) batch that has had a domino effect on the immediate successors.
In case board exams are disrupted again next year by the pandemic, round-the-year test scores are likely to be considered again, going by the current formula.
“It means that the entire year is like one long board exam,” says Ashna (17), a student of Manav Rachna School, who realises the importance of internal assessments in the 2021-22 academic year as it plods through Covid turbulence.
“This is going to be stressful, especially when we have both online classes and coaching sessions going on simultaneously.
We don’t know how things will pan out.
Many of us are anxious,” Ashna adds.
Cancellation of board exams has brought the focus on the year-round assessment and evaluation system for students.
Schools are preparing a Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system module and will maintain a performance record for each student that is ready for assessment, should the need be felt again to adopt a similar board assessment method next year.
While many educationists see this as an opportunity to incentivise students to strive for continuous progress, others find the system full of challenges and one that needs a different kind of training for both students and teachers.
“I see this system as a reform enabler and a way to implement recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP),” said Francis Joseph, an educationist.
“In the long run, we need to shift to a system of continuous data capturing for holistic evaluation of a student.
CCE will be able to track a student’s progress through the year.
Instead of panicking and resisting, I think we must incorporate this system so that our students don’t have to rely on high-stake exams,” For Arti Chopra, the principal of Amity International School, Gurgaon, CCE might be an advantage for both students and the system overall.
“Students can take charge and strive for continuous progress during an academic session.
With this system, we can shift away from rote learning and focus on all-round personality development of a child.
CCE can help us evolve from a score-based module to a learning-based one and improve the quality of teaching as well,” she said.
Others, however, feel that a CCE module will put additional pressure on students who are already trying to cope with an altered system of teaching and learning with classes moving online since March 2020.
“I don’t see any major shift coming in with the internal assessment-based evaluation system, especially if online classes are to continue,” said Salwan Public School principal Rashmi Mallik.
“If we want to introduce a system that aims to reduce stress, then we will need a certification-based module where the focus will be on 360-degree assessment of students and not textbook learning.
Just like competitive exams, we can explore the possibility of conducting one exam that seeks to evaluate students on their core competencies and conceptual clarity.” For most educators, a mere shift to a CCE model will not be enough.
For a holistic transformation, the focus should be on bringing about corresponding changes in the existing education system, which would include the roles of the school, the teacher and parents.
“The system might not bring about a major change unless we are ready to transform the role of teachers, way of teaching, and assessment methods.
There has to be a shift towards evaluating students on both scholastic and co-scholastic activities, like projects and social work.
The pattern of assessment needs to change,” said director of Suncity School, Rupa Chakravarty.
Although educators have different opinions when it comes to CCE, most seem to agree on one point — the year will be stressful for both students and teachers and a lot will depend on how schools react to changes.
While students will need regular counselling and guidance, teachers will have to be trained differently.
“We must not underestimate our students.
They can surely adapt to the new system if they have teachers to guide them.
Schools have to establish that internal assessments should not only focus on scoring, but also on learning for both the students and the teachers,” Joseph said.
Students, however, expressed concern about balancing study time.
“For IIT aspirants, it’s a very different pattern of learning.
We have to keep up with the pace of regular school classes and coaching sessions.
If the internal assessments were to be kicked in, things will be very difficult.
I have to take online classes in the day and then coaching classes in the evening.
Then there are series of mock tests and assignments for coaching classes too.
Managing all this will be tough,” said Manas Somani, a Class 12 student of Delhi Public School, Sector 45.
Students said it was important to keep themselves mentally fit.
“Whether or not we like it, we have to adapt to it.
It will be the test of patience, perseverance, and willpower.
I’m not thinking too much and rather focusing on picking up hobbies and taking out some time to cool off.
Keeping oneself mentally fit is the only way to tide through this.
It has been the case since last year,” said Rupam Taneja of Blue Bells School.
Focus will also be on the role of parents to engage and train their children so that they give more importance to learning and not just on scores and grades.
“They need to keep reminding children that even if they do not score well once, they can improve on it,” said Chopra.
However, to be successful, such changes will also have to be complemented by flexibility in the higher education system.
“Colleges need to do away with their fixation on high percentage and focus on how they can integrate the school assessment system with their own evaluation yardsticks,” Joseph said.
Why the new Class 12 batch faces year-long ‘board exams’
