India’s first national assessment regulator, PARAKH is set to bring uniformity in the assessment structure across all boards in India. Educational Testing Service (ETS), that conducts test such as TOEFL and GRE has been given the responsibility of setting up the regulatory body by National Council for Education Research (NCERT).
The Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH) will be an independent body that will work towards setting up of norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation across recognised boards in India. Different assessment processes create disparities among students. A uniform assessment and evaluation structure will thus foster equality and eliminate bias.
PARAKH will be focusing on three major areas — large-scale assessment like the National Achievement Survey, school-based assessments and capacity building. Some of the key guidelines that PARAKH will formulate would demonstrate the best practices in education, looking at the diverse identities and needs of children. Some of the following guidelines will find a place in the future assessment structure of India.
- Bringing uniformity in assessment across 62 boards in 36 States and Union Territories
- Setting up of assessment guidelines to remove disparities in the scores of students enrolled under different state boards
- Effectively measuring acquisition of skills at K12 level
- Studying the current context in which assessments are provided and develop newer
ways of assessing students, in the context of a post-Covid world - Formulate measurements to track and explore the ability to go beyond traditional cognitive assessment
Educational Testing Service (ETS) that will essentially form PARAKH, currently upholds assessments on a global level. It develops and administers scores of multiple tests including TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE and the Praxis Series assessments in 200 countries at over 9000 locations.
