PARAKH rolls out monthly district-level interventions to address learning gaps

PARAKH is the national assessment centre and an independent constituent unit of NCERT. It has introduced a nationwide plan to address learning gaps found in the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024. The main change is practical: assessment results should guide classroom improvement, not simply record performance.

The plan asks districts to identify weak competencies, set monthly learning targets and organise targeted teaching. Teachers may use classroom activities, remedial tools and regional-language materials, including resources from PARAKH’s Global Activity Bank. Schools then test selected competencies at the end of each month.

Results are submitted through standardised Google Forms. District and state officials review the average percentage of correct answers to see whether teaching is helping. PARAKH presented the framework to more than 600 education officials, covering action plans for 781 districts across all 36 states and Union territories.

The effort is nationwide. PARAKH’s framework envisages district-level action plans across 781 districts in all 36 states and Union territories. More than 600 state and district education officials attended workshops where the plan was presented. Local teams are expected to turn survey findings into regular interventions.

PRS 2024 itself assessed more than 2.1 million students in 74,229 schools. It covered three classes: Class 3, Class 6 and Class 9. These represent the foundational, preparatory and middle stages under the National Education Policy 2020.

The scale allows the findings to show patterns across school stages and districts. The survey was conducted on December 4, 2024, and its findings were released in July 2025. The follow-up plan now asks districts to select weak competencies, teach them, assess students monthly and report results for review.

PRS 2024 found that academic performance declines sharply as students move into higher classes. Mathematics showed the steepest pattern. Average scores fell from 60% in Class 3 to 37% in Class 9. This suggests that many students struggle to build and use mathematical understanding over time.

The survey also tested application. In Class 9, only 28% of students could successfully apply percentages to real-life problems. Language performance declined as well. The average score was 64% in Class 3, 59% in Class 6 and 54% in Class 9.

Class 3 showed a minor post-pandemic recovery compared with 2021, but later-stage performance remained weaker. These results are meant to act as diagnostic signals. Districts are expected to identify the specific competencies behind the weak scores and plan remedial teaching rather than treat the results as final judgments.

The five-step cycle begins by identifying learning gaps. District academic teams select poorly performing competencies across subjects and school stages. They then plan interventions, including targets, responsibilities and timelines. This makes the response specific instead of relying on broad claims about performance.

Teachers deliver targeted classroom instruction through activities, remedial tools and regional-language materials. At the month’s end, schools assess the selected competencies. The workshop presentation specifies 18 questions for the preparatory stage and 30 for the middle stage. These cover six and ten competencies respectively, with three questions per competency.

Schools report the average percentage of correct answers through standardised Google Forms circulated by district officials. State education authorities and SCERTs compile and review the results. The cycle can then guide the next month’s priorities, although the article describes the framework rather than reporting its results after implementation.

If districts use the monthly results actively, teaching can become more responsive to students’ actual needs. Instead of treating PRS 2024 as a final ranking exercise, officials can use it as a diagnostic signal. They can identify a weak competency, set a target and provide focused support.

For example, teachers might work on a selected mathematics competency through classroom activities and remedial tools. At month’s end, students answer questions on that competency. If the average percentage of correct answers remains low, district teams have evidence to review the intervention, materials or target before the next cycle.

This approach could create a regular link between teaching and assessment. It may also clarify responsibilities and timelines for schools, districts and states. However, the article reports the planned framework, not completed results, so its eventual effect on learning remains to be established through implementation and monitoring.

The digital Holistic Progress Card, or HPC, adds a broader picture of student development. Test scores mainly show performance on selected questions at a particular time. The HPC is designed to capture progress across cognitive, foundational and socio-emotional domains.

Its key mechanism is multiple perspectives. The portal allows self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment. This means progress is not represented only by a school test or by one external survey. It can include information gathered from the student, classmates and teacher as they review development.

The article presents HPC as part of the framework for tracking student development beyond test scores. It does not provide sample HPC results or explain how these measures will be combined with monthly competency scores. Still, using both systems could help officials monitor academic competencies while also following wider areas of development.

A learning competency is a specific, observable ability linked to learning. It describes what a student can understand or do, rather than only listing content covered in class. The article uses competencies as the units that districts identify, teach, assess and track.

Competency-based education therefore asks whether students can use knowledge. A student may remember a rule about percentages but still struggle to apply it in a real situation. PRS 2024 highlighted this distinction: in Class 9, only 28% of students successfully applied percentages to real-life problems. That is evidence about application, not just recall.

Focusing on competencies helps make intervention more precise. Teachers can target a weak ability, practise it through classroom activities and test it with selected questions. The article does not provide a formal definition of competency, but its assessment design clearly centres on demonstrated understanding and use.