No written exams till class 2, assessment should not be additional burden for children: Draft NCF

"Assessment should allow for diversity among children and in their learning. Children learn differently and express their learning differently too. There might be many ways to assess the achievement of a learning outcome or competency. The teacher should have the ability to design different kinds of assessment for the same learning outcome and use each assessment appropriately," the draft NCF states.

"Assessment should enable recording and documentation. Children's progress should be described and analysed through systematic collection of evidence. Assessment should not contribute to any additional burden for the child. Assessment tools and processes should be designed such that they are a natural extension of the learning experience for the child," it adds.The draft prepared by a panel headed by K Kasturirangan, former ISRO chief, recommends that "written tests should be introduced at the preparatory stage (class 3 to 5)". It also adds that at the middle stage (class 6 to 8), the focus of the curriculum should move to conceptual understanding and higher order capacities.

"Therefore, classroom assessment techniques such as projects, debates, presentations, experiments, investigations, role plays, journals and portfolios should be used to assess learning. Regular summative assessments at this stage will help students synthesize their learning at logical intervals such as year-end, term-end, unit-end. Summative assessments comprising multiple-choice questions and constructed responses like short and long answer, may be used periodically," it says.

During the secondary stage (class 9 to 12), it has been recommended by the panel that comprehensive classroom assessments be implemented to facilitate meaningful learning and constructive feedback. To record students' learning against competencies, regular summative assessments should be conducted.