In new school report card, role of parents, classmates, self-evaluation

Traditionally, assessment in schools has been primarily focused on year-end examinations, with the responsibility solely placed on teachers. The HPC, aligned with the recommendations of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) to make evaluation more “learner-centric”, marks a departure from this approach by considering various aspects of learning, including diverse skills and competencies, rather than solely relying on marks obtained in periodic tests. Its aim is to track not only students’ academic performance but also their cognitive, socio-emotional abilities, and creativity during class activities.

To achieve this, the HPC emphasises on a descriptive form of evaluation where students are active participants. Each child will be able to evaluate not only their own performance but also of their classmates. According to the NEP 2020, the HPC is a means to build on self-awareness and self-esteem of students by communicating the strengths and areas of improvement.

At all stages, going beyond academic learning, students are assessed on self-awareness, interpersonal relationships, problem-solving, emotional quotient and creative skills. Each student has to reflect on their own progress at the end of an activity by circling statements such as — “I was able to learn something new” or “I was able to express my creativity” or “I was able to help others in some way”.

For example, at the end of an activity, a student of Class 1 will circle what they were able to do and not do. A child can self-evaluate her performance through descriptive remarks such as “I liked doing this work”, “I could ask my friends for help”, “I followed my teacher’s instructions” by colouring smileys that say ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘not sure’. This “student’s self-reflection” is part of the HPC for all students from Class 1 to Class 8.

At middle stage (Class 6 to Class 8), students are encouraged to set their own academic and personal goals and a definite timeline by which they wish to achieve these goals at the beginning of the year. Students are also required to fill in their expectations from a teacher with respect to areas where they need help.

The HPC for middle stage also includes an “ambition card” where a student can fill in her ambitions for the year and mention areas where she must improve, skills and habits she must develop to achieve her ambitions.

The HPC will also link home and school by making parents an integral part of a child’s learning process. It will include inputs of parents like ability to do homework, following lessons in the classroom and even student’s ability to balance screen time with extra-curricular activities at home.

The new assessment form gives importance to peer evaluation as well. At the end of a classroom activity, each student is required to remark whether their classmates were able to execute tasks while learning and engaging. Each student has to circle descriptive indicators of progress like classmates were able to “understand the activity”, “were able to support me or the teacher in the activity” or “were able to contribute to the success of activity”.

In March 2023, NCERT conducted a pilot study in select states following which, in September, NCERT wrote to the states and UTs to start implementation of the HPC in schools. “We had conducted a pilot study with select schools in March 2023 and then we had asked the states to implement the HPC by adopting or adapting it according to their own contextual requirements. The states can also translate these HPC in their respective regional languages. Almost 15 to 16 states and UT as well as CBSE schools are now assessing students based on the HPC,” said Indrani Bhaduri, head and CEO of PARAKH. Other states are at various stages of implementing the HPC, she said.

After the NCERT’s direction in December last year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) released its own “implementation manual” for the HPC model of assessment for the foundational stage up to Class 2. The Board adapted the HPC with certain tweaks that categorises students in the age of 3 to 6 years into a ‘beginner’, ‘progressing’ or ‘proficient’ category. Unlike the NCERT HPC, which is fairly detailed, the CBSE model encourages teachers to mark the level of attainment of a student using neutral icons such as flowers, trees, smileys etc. Also, the progress reports are mostly prepared by teachers in consultation with parents and student inputs.

The NCERT has made plans to digitise the records of schoolchildren on a dedicated platform. In 2022, states were advised to establish a central digital repository of data called the Vidya Samiksha Kendra to track student enrolment, progress in their learning levels among other details. The states, as directed by the NCERT, will have to upload the student HPC online.

“Currently, the schools are making physical copies of the HPC but the plan is to digitise these records eventually. We have asked schools to scan and upload the HPCs on Vidya Samiksha Kendra. We are developing this platform to host all digital records of the students and soon teachers will be able to directly make these records online,” said Bhaduri.

For the secondary stage, the NCERT is currently preparing the HPC with inputs from SCERTs and the state and central boards. “The secondary stage HPC will be very special as it will include Board exams as well. We have conducted workshops and consultation with the Boards and SCERT and by the end of March the secondary stage HPC will be out,” said Bhaduri.