UPSC Essentials: Reports and data on your tips: NAS-2021

NAS stands for National Achievement Survey. It is the largest, nationwide, sample-based education survey conducted across India.

Why is NAS-2021 conducted?

To provide structured feedback on student learning levels at District, State, and national levels. These inputs are used for policy planning and designing pedagogical interventions to improve quality and ensure equity in learning.

What is the objective of NAS-2021?

The objective of NAS 2021 is to evaluate children’s progress and learning competencies as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system, so as to take appropriate steps for remedial actions at different levels.

It will help to unravel the gaps in learning and will support state/ UT governments in developing long-term, mid-term and short-term interventions to improve learning levels and orient on differential planning based on NAS 2021 data.

How does NAS-2021 provide system-level feedback?

NAS-2021 administers system level feedback by administering standardized surveys to students and collecting information on relevant background variables such as school environment, teaching processes, and student home and background factors.

Which ministry conducts the NAS-2021?

NAS is undertaken by the Department of School Education and Literacy, the Ministry of Education, and the Government of India. Under MoE, CBSE conducts NAS.

NAS was conducted in what all languages?

The NAS 2021 was conducted in 22 mediums of instruction that covered English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bodo, Urdu, Garo, Konkani, Khasi, Bhutia, Nepali, and Lepcha etc.

How many students, schools and districts participated in NAS 2021?

About 34 lakh students of 1.18 lakh schools in 720 districts from both rural and urban areas have participated in NAS 2021.

Which organization designs the assessment framework and tools for NAS 2021?

NCERT designs the assessment framework and tools for NAS 2021.

Which are the grades in which NAS-2021 was conducted?

NAS was conducted for classes 3, 5, 8, and 10.

Which are the key curricular areas assessed in NAS 2021?

Grade 3: Language, Mathematics and Environmental Studies.

Grade 5: Language, Mathematics and Environmental Studies.

Grade 8: Language, Mathematics, Science and Social Science.

Grade 10: Grade 10: Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and English.

What are the main objectives considered for the determination of the sample size for NAS 2021?

The main objectives considered for the determination of sample size include:

Overall national- by gender, by rural/ urban, by social group, by the school management.

Overall state- by gender within the state, by rural/ urban within the state, by the social group within the state, by school management within the state.

Overall district- by gender within the district, by rural/ urban within the district, by the social group within the district, by school management within the district.

What are the schools included in NAS 2021?

The schools included in NAS 2021 are state government schools, government-aided schools, private unaided recognized schools, and central government schools.

What is the maximum number of students to be administered the survey for a grade in school?

The maximum number of students to be administered the survey for a grade in school is 30.

What are the key takeaways from the report?

1) Performance levels have dipped across subjects and grades from 2017 to 2021 due to Covid.

2) The national average percentage of students for class third was 59%, which declined by 10% to 49% in class fifth. There was a further decline to 41.9% in class eight and then 37.8% in class 10. The performance recorded a decline in almost all subjects.

3) The average performance of girls remained better than the boys in almost all subjects across the classes, both nationally and at the state level.

4) The students from the general category performed better than students from the SC/ ST and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

5) The average performance of schools in rural areas remained very low in comparison to the urban areas in the same states and union territories (UTs).

6) Delhi’s performance in class eighth and class 10 was better when compared with the national average. Punjab has scored highest in all subjects for classes 3, 5, and 8.

7) 24 percent of the students surveyed did not have access to digital devices at home, 38 percent said they faced difficulty carrying out learning activities at home during the pandemic, while 80 percent said they learn better at school with the help of peers.

(source: nas.education.gov.in)