CCE: A Simple Tool To Improve Children's Learning Levels

<p>Himachal Pradesh's experience confirms that continuous and comprehensive evaluation of schoolchildren can and does improve learning levels, but should be implemented with care.<br><br>By Prachi Windlass<br><br>Continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) has come under fire of late.<br><br>CCE is one of the highlights of the Right to Education (RTE) Act passed in 2009, a process of regular assessment of individual pupils, which has replaced end-of-term and end-of-year school examinations from Classes I to VIII. It requires schools to keep a complete record of every child's progress during these elementary school years.<br><br>Teachers have complained that CCE increases their work hours and clerical tasks, while students have grumbled that unlike an objective end-of-year exam, it leaves them largely at the mercy of teachers' subjective perceptions. It has been alleged that the practice of automatic promotion between Classes I and VIII without failing any student, which the CCE mandates, has bred complacence and lowered learning standards. Various reports have also claimed that CCE is not being carried out systematically in many places, that it does not give the correct picture of a student's progress or learning difficulties, or suggest remedial actions.<br><br>There appears to be a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding. In fact, CCE is a valuable pedagogical tool, but it needs to be implemented with proper understanding, preparation and commitment. The experience of the Michael &amp; Susan Dell Foundation, which supports NGOs like Learning Links Foundation (LLF) and Bodh Shiksha Samiti (BSS) working in the field of education, bears this out. LLF and BSS have allied with the governments of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat to introduce CCE in select government schools and, in every case, the results are positive.<br><br>Take Himachal Pradesh. In October 2012, LLF signed a memorandum of understanding with the state's Directorate of Education to introduce CCE on a pilot basis in 200 government schools across the districts of Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur and Kinnaur. A review of the project in March 2014 showed an average improvement of 13 pp in children's math and language competencies in the second year of the intervention. Additionally, the program also found 30 pp increase in teacher's compliance with the CCE-based assessment tools and methods. The experience with CCE in the other three states has been similar.<br><br>How should CCE be implemented to make it effective? Most important is the design of the CCE framework and tools. CCE is a teacher's tool to collect individualized and actionable information on children's learning levels in order to take appropriate measures to facilitate it in a desired direction. When designed well, these tools can make a teacher's life much easier and positively impact the learning levels of children. Secondly, CCE can help achieve the much talked about paradigm shift from teaching to learning in the classrooms. This shift can be achieved only through a thorough understating of CCE in the main drivers of this process - school principals and teachers, along with the state resource persons (SRPs) employed to help and monitor them. For example, in Himachal Pradesh, a six-day training workshop was conducted for teachers on exactly how to plan and transact the lessons under the new system, how to observe the students' scholastic and co-scholastic performance and record it. Subsequently, based on feedback from the teachers, subject enrichment workshops were also organized.<br><br>Finally, the training- and capacity-building cannot end with just forum trainings. In addition to the SRPs, LLF designated 24 local experts as field facilitators to help the teachers on a regular basis as well as to liaise with block officials to monitor academic progress. Parents were drawn into the process as well to monitor the academic and holistic development of their children. An Education Management Information System is being developed which will provide academic insights into the progress of every child at every level.<br><br>It seems to suggest that many of the challenges with CCE that have arisen elsewhere could well be due to all too hasty and ad hoc implementation without consistent and ongoing follow through. The key features to keep in mind, while bringing in CCE are: make curricular objectives crystal-clear; do not expect teachers to engage in more recordkeeping and administrative functions, instead provide tools to help them in the classroom; and above all, provide them with support whenever they need it. Mere change of report cards and one-time trainings are just not enough.<br><br>The author is Director at India Education, Michael &amp; Susan Dell Foundation<br><br>Note: Views expressed by the author are personal</p>