NCF 2005's Vision of Assessment for Learning
NCF-2005 is a valuable educational document developed by NCERT for providing guidelines for developing school curriculum of different states in tune with the emerging needs of our developing country.
The document tries to emphasize the fact that learning has become a source of burden and stress on children and their parents is an evidence of a deep distortion in educational aims and quality. To correct this distortion, NCF proposes five guiding principles for curriculum development -
Connecting knowledge to life outside the school.
Shift learning away from rote method.
Enriching curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks.
Making examination more flexible and integrating them with classroom life.
Developing school identity consistent with democratic governance.
The document itself as a whole is divided into five chapters. In its third chapter entitled as "Curriculum areas, School stages and Assessment" it provides views and visions about the assessment of the learning outcomes of the students. In its fifth chapter entitled as "Systematic Reforms" it has discussed about reforms in the prevalent system of examination.
The main vision put up by this document in connection with the assessment of learning outcomes of the students maybe outlined as below -
A. Examination Reforms - Need and Essentials
It introduced systematic reforms in the prevalent system of examination in the manner like below -
1. Reforms regarding paper setting
The focus should shift to framing good questions rather than mere paper setting. Good questions can be pooled all year round from teachers, college professors, educators from other states and even students. These questions than be categorised according to level of difficulty, topics and concepts and time estimated to solve. A record of their usage must be maintained and be looked upon at the time of generating question papers.
2. Reforms about examining and reporting
Offer adequate remuneration to teachers to examine papers.
Randomise examination scripts given to a particular examiner to reduce malpractices and inter-examiner variability.
To reduce cheating in the examination hall candidates should not be permitted to leave the exam centre in first half time and not permitted to carry question papers out with them while the examination is still going on.
Present wide range of performance parameter on the marksheet like absolute marks/grades, board percentile rank and the school percentile rank.
3. Emphasis on School based and Internal Assessment
There is a need for getting shifted towards school based assessment and find ways to give more credibility to internal assessment. Each school should evolve a flexible and implementable scheme of CCE. At the same time, to prevent abuse by schools, students could be graded on a relative, not an absolute, scale and must be moderated and scaled against the marks obtained in the external examination.
B. Assessment and Evaluation
The task of assessment and evaluation needs to be redesigned in terms of its purposes, methodologies and scope in below manners -
1. The purpose of Assessment
For realizing the objectives of school education, the system of evaluation should be able to provide needed feedback on scholastic and non-scholastic areas.
A teacher should also try to assess student's learning in different domains.
Besides tests and examinations, routine activities and exercises can be employed effectively to assess learning. In its diagnostic aspect, evaluation should cater to the needs of remedial teaching.
2. Assessing Learners
Instead of using traditional tests and examinations for memorized facts and textbook-based learning, assessment and evaluation should be quite comprehensive to indicate the progress of the learner towards their wholesome development.
3. Assessment in the course of teaching
Maintaining daily diary based on reservation may help a teacher in keeping CCE report of the children. Attempts can also be made to keep samples and notes of the child's work at different stages.
4. Curricular areas that cannot be tested
Sometimes a student may demonstrate qualitative improvements like improvement in health, moral behaviour etc. that could not be assigned numerical marks. Thus, qualitative assessment should also be made an integral part of the system of assessment.
5. Design and Conduct of Assessment
It highlighted the need and procedure of designing and conducting assessment in a more credible and valid ways competent enough for gauging learning in a more appropriate manner. The new practices like open book examination, on demand examination etc. should be tried.
6. Self-assessment and feedback
Grading and correction in the presence of students and providing feedback on their answers.
Asking students to provide assessment of what they can or cannot do well.
Providing qualitative statements for marks/grades obtained in tests.
Giving due recognition to the self-assessment of the students in the preparation of their progress report.
7. Areas that require fresh thinking
Developing reliable and efficient instruments for assessing learning carried out in groups, learning in areas like theatre, work and craft where skills develop over longer time scales and requires careful oreservation.
Implementing CCE in effective way as not to load students with stress by reducing activities into items of assessment or making them experience the teacher's power.
Need of evolving and maintaining credibility in assessment.
8. Assessment at different stages
i) Upto Class II
No tests or examination, only qualitative assessment.
ii) Class III to VIII
Use of oral and written tests.
Assigning grades/marks along with qualitative judgement.
Self-evaluation as a part of report card from class V onwards.
Emphasis on short tests from time to time upto class VI.
Commencement of team-wise examination from class VII onwards.
iii) Class IX to XII
Use of tests, examinations, project reports and self-assessment for knowledge based areas of the curriculum.
Use of observation and self-evaluation for other areas.
Progress report to show more analysis about student, various skills or knowledge areas and percentiles etc.