Holistic Progress Cards and Identity Development: From Knowing to Becoming

• 2026-05-11 12:00:00

• Parakh NCERT

• By Indrani Bhaduri

What does a report card say about a child? For years, it has largely answered one question: how much did the child score? But it rarely answers a more important one: who is the child becoming? Over time, students begin to see themselves as “good,” “average,” or “weak,” not because of who they are, but because of how they perform in examinations. These labels often travel with them, shaping confidence, choices, and aspirations. It is in this context that the Holistic Progress Card (HPC), developed by PARAKH, offers a powerful shift by positioning assessment as a process that supports identity development rather than narrowing it.

The HPC moves beyond viewing learning as the accumulation of knowledge. It recognizes that identity is formed through continuous interaction between what learners experience, how they are perceived, and how they begin to perceive themselves. By capturing multiple dimensions of development, cognitive, socio-emotional, creative, physical, ethical, and cultural, it creates space for learners to be seen in their fullness. This expanded view allows children to recognize strengths that may otherwise remain invisible in a marks or grade-based system. Whether it is their ability to collaborate, think flexibly, resolve conflicts, or generate new ideas, HPC allows learners to develop identities that are holistic and grounded in their evolving strengths, interests, and values, rather than being narrowly defined by grades or subject-specific performance.

A significant shift introduced by the HPC is its emphasis on evidence over scores and narratives over numbers. When teachers document how a learner approaches a task, engages with peers, or responds to challenges, they provide insights into the learner’s dispositions and ways of thinking. Over time, such feedback helps learners build a more grounded understanding of themselves. They begin to see patterns in their interests, their approaches to problem-solving, and their responses to different situations. Identity, in this sense, is not assigned but gradually constructed through reflection and experience.

This process becomes particularly important as learners grow and begin to make academic and professional choices. In a traditional system, these choices are often driven by marks, streams are selected based on scores, and careers are imagined within narrow definitions of success. The HPC, however, offers a broader foundation for decision-making. By documenting a learner’s evolving interests, strengths, and dispositions over time, it provides a more nuanced basis for choosing subjects, pathways, and future roles. Choices made in this manner are based on who the learners are rather than how much they scored.

For instance, a learner who consistently demonstrates curiosity, collaborative ability, and openness to new perspectives may begin to see themselves in roles that require teamwork and innovation. Another who shows persistence, analytical thinking, and attention to detail may be drawn towards fields that demand sustained inquiry. Because the HPC includes self-reflection as well as inputs from teachers, peers, and parents, these choices are not imposed but emerge through dialogue. Learners are encouraged to think about what they value and how they wish to engage with the world.

In this way, assessment becomes forward-looking rather than retrospective. It does not merely record what has been achieved, but informs what can be pursued. The HPC supports learners in connecting their present experiences with future possibilities, making academic and professional pathways more meaningful and aligned with their developing identities.

Equally important is the participatory nature of the HPC. By bringing together multiple perspectives, it ensures that identity is not shaped by a single authoritative voice. Instead, it emerges through ongoing interaction and reflection. HPC gives agency to the learners to be a part of the process of assessment. Learners are not passive recipients but active participants in understanding their own growth. This reduces the anxiety often associated with assessment and replaces it with a sense of ownership and agency.

This approach is closely aligned with the vision of National Education Policy 2020, which emphasizes holistic development and learner-centered education. It acknowledges that qualities such as open-mindedness, collaboration, and flexibility are central to both personal and professional life. By embedding these within assessment, the HPC ensures that they are not treated as peripheral, but as essential to education.

The implications for classrooms are profound. If identity is to be nurtured, learning environments must allow learners to express themselves, question and challenge assumptions, work alongside others to engage with diverse perspectives, take risks, shift between approaches, seek deeper understanding or alternative explanations, and reflect on their experiences. Teachers, in turn, must move beyond judging outcomes to understanding processes. Feedback must guide learners towards self-awareness rather than simply indicating correctness.

The transition to such a system does require time, support, and a shift in mindset. Teachers need opportunities to develop skills in observation and documentation. Schools must internalize the philosophy behind the HPC. Parents, too, need to move beyond equating success with marks. Without this collective effort, the transformative potential of the HPC may remain limited.

Ultimately, the HPC reminds us that education is not only about what learners know, but about who they become, and the choices they are able to make because of that understanding.