Assessment at the Foundational Stage captures not just what children know, but who they are becoming.

• 2026-06-17 12:00:00

• Parakh NCERT

• By Indrani Bhaduri

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 introduces a new 5+3+3+4 school structure that matches the developmental needs of children. The first five years, called the Foundational Stage, include three years of pre-school education in Anganwadi’s or Balvatikas along with Grades 1 and 2. NEP 2020 recognizes that the early years are crucial for a child’s learning and development. Balvatikas help children prepare for school through play, stories, songs, and activities, while Anganwadis support children's learning, nutrition, health, and overall well-being. Together, they provide a strong foundation for learning and help children transition smoothly into formal schooling.

Assessment is often associated with tests, marks and examinations. At the Foundational Stage, however, assessment serves a very different purpose. It helps teachers understand how children learn, grow and develop. It provides evidence of children's progress and supports meaningful teaching decisions. The National Curriculum Framework for the Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) views assessment as an integral part of the teaching-learning process. It is not an activity conducted only at the end of instruction. Instead, it is embedded within everyday classroom experiences. This understanding reflects the vision of NEP 2020, which advocates a shift from rote memorisation and content recall towards competency-based learning and holistic development. Assessment, therefore, becomes a tool for supporting learning rather than judging it. Competency-based assessment begins with a clear understanding of what children are expected to know, understand, value and do. In the NCF-FS, learning expectations are articulated through Curricular Goals, Competencies, and Learning Outcomes. The competency-based approach recognises that children's development is holistic. Learning occurs across multiple interconnected domains. The NCF-FS therefore identifies competencies within Physical Development, Socio-Emotional and Ethical Development, Cognitive Development, Language and Literacy Development, Aesthetic and Cultural Development, and Positive Learning Habits. Assessment must capture growth across all these domains. It must recognise children's strengths, interests, abilities, and emerging competencies rather than focusing narrowly on academic achievement.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions a shift from rote learning to competency-based education. To support this transformation, Paragraph 4.41 of NEP 2020 established PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) as India's National Assessment Centre. PARAKH develops assessment standards, conducts large-scale surveys, and promotes assessment practices that align with 21st-century learning goals. A major advancement in competency-based assessment has emerged through the PARAKH Taxonomy. The taxonomy provides a structured framework for understanding and assessing learning through three interconnected abilities: Awareness, Sensitivity, and Creativity. These abilities support holistic assessment and align closely with the developmental goals of the Foundational Stage.Awareness focuses on children's understanding, recognition, observation, and comprehension. It reflects what children know and how they make sense of experiences and situations. Sensitivity focuses on children's ability to respond appropriately to people, emotions, situations, and their surroundings. It includes empathy, cooperation, care, respect, and social responsibility. Creativity focuses on imagination, originality, flexibility of thinking, expression, innovation, and the generation of new ideas. These abilities are not assessed separately. Instead, they are integrated into everyday learning experiences. During a story session, a child may identify a character's emotions, explain how they would respond in a similar situation, and imagine a different ending. Through a single activity, the teacher can gather evidence of Awareness, Sensitivity, and Creativity. This integrated approach reflects the holistic nature of children's learning and development.

The PARAKH framework emphasises that assessment should remain learner-centric, inclusive, competency-based, and developmentally appropriate. Assessment tasks should be grade-specific and aligned with children's developmental needs. They should be relevant to local and Indian contexts and connected to children's everyday experiences. Most importantly, assessment at the Foundational Stage should emerge through play, storytelling, exploration, interaction, songs, movement, and meaningful engagement. For example, after listening to a story, a teacher might ask, "How do you think the character felt?" This question helps assess Awareness. Asking, "What would you do if your friend felt sad?" provides evidence of Sensitivity. Asking, "Can you think of a different ending to the story?" allows the teacher to assess Creativity. Such questions transform assessment into a meaningful and authentic part of learning.

The PARAKH assessment rubric is designed around developmental progressions rather than marks and grades. The assessment parameters remain constant across performance levels, but the degree to which the ability is demonstrated changes. The developmental levels in competency-based assessment describe a child’s progress rather than success or failure. The Beginner Level indicates that the child requires significant support and additional learning opportunities. The Proficient Level reflects growing understanding and competence, with occasional support still needed. The Advanced Level indicates that the child can apply learning confidently and independently across different situations. To make progress easier for children and families to understand, these levels may also be represented through child-friendly descriptors such as Stream, Mountain, and Sky, emphasizing growth and development in a positive manner.

In India, PARAKH has become an important institution for assessment reform. It supports competency-based assessment, holistic reporting, large-scale achievement surveys and system-level monitoring. Its work reflects the vision of the National Education Policy 2020. NEP 2020 calls for a shift from rote learning to competency-based and holistic assessment. Large-Scale Assessments are educational surveys. They help countries understand the health of their education systems. They provide evidence about what students know. They also show what students can do. These assessments compare skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours across different groups. They do not focus on individual students. They focus on group-level performance. This makes them useful for policy planning, school monitoring, and reporting national learning trends. These surveys work like national educational health check-ups. They help identify what students are learning. They also show where learning gaps exist. This evidence helps in designing better interventions.

One of the most significant reforms proposed within the competency-based assessment framework is the Holistic Progress Card (HPC). The HPC moves beyond traditional report cards that focus primarily on academic achievement. It provides a comprehensive picture of children's development across multiple domains. It is based on evidence collected through observations, artefacts, portfolios, interactions, and classroom participation rather than formal examinations. At the Foundational Stage, it serves as the primary mode of assessment and documentation. 

Children's achievements are recognised through authentic evidence gathered over time. Another important feature of the HPC is its collaborative nature. Assessment is not limited to teacher observations alone. Parents contribute valuable insights about children's experiences and behaviours at home. Children themselves can engage in simple forms of self-assessment. This creates a more comprehensive understanding of the child and strengthens collaboration between home and school. The Foundational Stage HPC gives importance to play-based and joy-based learning. In this context, Toy-Based Pedagogy, Art-Integrated Learning, Sports-Integrated Learning, Experiential learning, community involvement, and the use of local resources become important pedagogical tools. These approaches connect learning with the child’s immediate environment. They also connect learning with culture, movement, creativity and lived experiences. They support the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and self-expression. Thus, the HPC promotes an integrated pedagogical framework. In this framework, children are not passive recipients of knowledge. They become active participants in their own learning and development.

In the Indian education system, the use of local resources supports a holistic approach to education. It makes learning more meaningful and connected to children’s real lives. Local resources may include cultural artefacts, community knowledge, local stories, traditional practices, natural surroundings and indigenous skills. When these are used in teaching and assessment, children understand their environment better. They also develop respect and pride for their culture, language, and community. At the foundational, local resources can make the Holistic Progress Card more contextual and inclusive. Children can be assessed through their mother tongue or regional language. Local stories, folk tales, songs, poems, and oral traditions can be used to develop language skills. Mathematics can also be linked with daily life. Teachers can use examples from local markets, household objects, traditional measurements, local patterns, and community situations. This helps children apply mathematical ideas in familiar contexts.

Children can observe plants, animals, water sources, soil, weather, and local environmental issues. They can also learn about conservation and care for nature. Similarly, visits to heritage sites, museums, cultural events, and community spaces can help children understand local history, festivals, traditions, and customs. Local art, craft, music, dance, theatre, and storytelling can support creativity and self-expression.The Indian Knowledge System also supports this idea of holistic progress. It sees education as the development of the whole child. It gives importance to physical, intellectual, emotional, moral, spiritual, cultural, artistic, and environmental growth. Children learn through play, movement, yoga, observation, questioning, creativity, empathy, values, and care for nature. In this way, the Holistic Progress Card moves beyond marks. It reflects the child’s overall development, including fitness, emotions, creativity, values, behaviour, and character.

The competency-based assessment framework is closely aligned with NIPUN Bharat and the goals of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy. Competencies related to communication, literacy, numeracy, health, well-being, creativity, observation, environmental awareness and learning habits are mapped across both frameworks. One of PARAKH's most significant initiatives is the Foundational Learning Study (FLS), which focuses on assessing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) among young learners. Unlike traditional examinations, FLS adopts a child-friendly, multilingual, and competency-based approach. Assessments are conducted in more than 20 languages, ensuring accessibility, inclusion and cultural relevance. The study also uses diagnostic tools inspired by international frameworks such as Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) to identify specific learning gaps and support targeted interventions. While FLS focuses on foundational learning, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan evaluates broader end-of-stage competencies across subjects. Together, these assessments provide a comprehensive understanding of student learning and system performance. Collectively, these efforts are helping India build an assessment system that is equitable, evidence-driven, and focused on improving learning outcomes for every child.

The National Achievement Survey and the Foundational Learning Study are important examples of such efforts. The Foundational Learning Study 2022 was an important step in understanding foundational learning in India. FLS 2022 was closely linked with NIPUN Bharat. NIPUN Bharat was launched in July 2021. It aims to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy for all children by the end of Grade 3. The target year is 2026–27. FLS 2022 helped establish a baseline for this mission. The study assessed foundational literacy skills. These included oral language comprehension, phonological awareness, decoding, reading comprehension, and oral reading fluency. It also assessed foundational numeracy skills. These included number identification, comparison, operations, measurement, fractions, The scale of FLS 2026 was significant. More than 10,000 schools participated. Over 1,00,000 students were assessed. The study covered 776 districts. It involved coordination among PARAKH, NCERT, Samagra Shiksha, SCERTs, SIEs, DIETs, and district education offices. One major change in FLS 2026 was the move to a tablet-based digital platform. Earlier assessments were largely paper-based. The digital shift improved data accuracy. It reduced manual errors. It also helped speed up analysis and reporting. This showed the growing role of technology in educational assessment. Large-scale assessments like NAS and FLS provide system-level evidence. The Holistic Progress Card provides classroom-level evidence. Together, they create a stronger assessment ecosystem. 

For India, this shift is very important. Educational reform cannot depend only on curriculum change. It also needs meaningful assessment. When assessment becomes holistic, multilingual, competency-based, and evidence-driven, it can support real learning. PARAKH’s work reflects this important transition. It shows that assessment is not the end of learning. It is a continuous process that helps every learner move forward. The larger message is clear. PARAKH is not only conducting assessments. It is helping India rethink the purpose of assessment. Assessment is moving away from fear, ranking, and rote recall. It is moving towards feedback, competencies, evidence, and improvement. Early Childhood assessment should focus on a child's overall development and not only on academic learning. A nurturing environment for children will help them bloom into a more cognizant individual. Thus,  children will grow into a responsible and self-aware individuals. Assessment shall play a key role in this transformation. This alignment ensures coherence between curricular goals, pedagogy, assessment practices, learning resources, and teacher support systems. It also strengthens the implementation of NEP 2020 and promotes quality foundational learning for all children.

How to Fill the Holistic Progress Card (HPC): Foundational Stage

https://parakh.ncert.gov.in/themes/parakh/hpc-files/how-to-fill-pdf/How-to-fill-the-HPC-(Foundational-Stage).pdf