India's first national assessment regulator PARAKH will bring the much-needed uniformity in assessment in all the state boards in the country, Sachin Jain, the country manager for Educational Testing Service stated.
ETS, which conducts key tests such as TOEFL and GRE, has been chosen by the National Council for Education Research (NCERT) for setting up the regulatory platform.
The Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH) will work on setting norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognised school boards in the country.
PARAKH will be an independent organisation affiliated to the Education Ministry which will be looking into three major areas - large-scale assessment like the National Achievement Survey, school-based assessments and thirdly capacity building.
"ETS being a consultant to PARAKH, our first step is to develop some norms and standardized guidelines for assessment including summative tests and constant new forms of assessing students," Sachin told FPJ in an interview.
Sachin, however, did not comment on a definite timeline by when PARAKH will be formally ready.
"ETS's understanding of global best practices in curriculum and assessment will help in standardising several aspects across various school boards thereby paving the way for equality, consistency and uniformity not only in assessment but also in teaching and learning practices, he said.
When asked why PARAKH is essential, Sachin explained, "While CBSE is one of the largest boards, state boards are even larger in terms of student population, and our challenge was to come up with a way to equate them as there is no moderation in grades. Every university had to moderate the marks to make it equitable among various boards. One of the most prominent examples is the introduction of CUET, which was developed as a result of disparity."
"When we have a similar evaluation across all boards, there will be no need for CUET or other entrance exams as everyone will be able to apply anywhere owing to grade moderation," he stated.
"PARAKH will serve as global model for how to build world-class assessment and learning systems to deliver high-quality student outcomes, advance education and improve millions of lives", he concluded.
