This in itself speaks volumes of the outlook towards tests in our country. The word “Examination” is synonymous with stress, failure and a life changing event for most people. On the contrary the word assessment is more balanced. It indicates an exercise in finding out what you know rather than figuring out what you do not.
It is only recently that the phrases like continuous evaluation, formative assessments are coming into the cognizance of students and teachers alike.
This is a key change in paradigm. It marks a beginning in our country for focusing on learning outcomes and not results…It encourages students to focus on learning and not marks…
It is truly a pity that we are a nation of 130 Crores people and we rank amongst the lowest in learning outcomes on tests such as PISA. Even smaller nations rank much higher in learning outcomes today !
So let us move from exams to assessments…from marks to outcomes that is the only way we can move as a nation towards a better tomorrow.
