From Policy to Practice: PARAKH’s Roadmap for Implementing Examination Reforms

• 2026-06-25 12:00:00

• Parakh NCERT

• By Indrani Bhaduri

Examinations have always held a central place in Indian education. They shape how students learn, how teachers teach, how schools are judged and how parents understand success. Over time, however, the system has become highly marks-centred and stressful. Board examinations and entrance examinations often create fear, pressure and dependence on coaching. Instead of encouraging real understanding, they have often rewarded memorisation and repeated practice of expected answers. 

NEP 2020 recognises this concern clearly. It calls for a shift from rote learning to conceptual understanding, competency-based assessment and application of knowledge in real-life situations. The policy does not suggest removing examinations. It asks for changing their purpose and structure. Examinations should become tools for understanding learning, not merely instruments for ranking students. NEP 2020 recommends reforming board examinations for Grades 10 and 12 to reduce pressure and lessen the need for coaching. It also suggests giving students more than one opportunity in a school year, including an improvement attempt. This makes the system more humane because one poor performance on a single day should not define a learner’s future. The policy also visualises semester-wise, modular and on-demand examinations in the long term. These would test smaller portions of learning after a course is completed. NEP also encourages subject flexibility and discourages rigid separation of streams. It recommends school examinations in Grades 3, 5 and 8 for developmental purposes. These exams are meant to identify learning gaps, improve teaching-learning processes and provide timely support to students. 

NEP 2020 recommends similar reforms for university entrance exams. These exams should test conceptual understanding. They should also assess the ability to apply knowledge. The National Testing Agency will offer common aptitude tests and subject-based exams. These exams will be conducted at least twice a year. Students will be able to choose subjects according to their interests. This will reduce dependence on coaching. It will also reduce the burden of multiple entrance exams on students, universities and the education system.

National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023 gives a more detailed structure to this vision of assessment reform. It states that board examinations should assess the competencies defined in the learning standards for each curricular area. This means that question papers must move beyond factual recall. A central feature of this reform is the mapping of Curricular Goals, Competencies and Learning Outcomes. Curricular Goals describe the broad educational aims of a subject. Competencies explain what learners should be able to do to achieve those goals. Learning Outcomes make these competencies specific, observable and assessable. Therefore, a reformed question paper should not be prepared only by selecting chapters and distributing marks. Each assessment item should be linked with a competency and a learning outcome. The overall paper should reflect the larger curricular goals of the subject. This makes examinations more transparent, meaningful and balanced. NCF-SE also emphasises validity and reliability. A valid examination measures what it is meant to measure. A reliable examination gives fair and consistent results. For this, boards need assessment frameworks, blueprints, good-quality questions, scoring guides, marking schemes, review processes and moderation. NCF-SE also recognises that not all learning can be assessed through written answers. Areas such as vocational education, art education, physical education and well-being require demonstration-based assessment through practice, performance, observation, projects, portfolios and rubrics.

PARAKH, or Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development, (Paragraph 4.41 of NEP 2020)  has been established at NCERT as the National Assessment Centre to support this transformation. It works to set norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and to support the movement towards competency-based, holistic and equitable assessment practices. In this way, PARAKH acts as a bridge between policy and practice. NEP 2020 gives the vision of examination reform. NCF-SE 2023 gives the curricular and assessment direction. PARAKH helps translate these ideas into frameworks, tools, surveys, guidelines and digital systems that can be used by boards, schools, teachers and policymakers.

A significant contribution of PARAKH to examination reform is the PARAKH Taxonomy. This taxonomy provides a structured way to design assessment around three interconnected dimensions: Awareness, Sensitivity and Creativity. The PARAKH Taxonomy gives practical shape to the NEP vision of competency-based assessment. It helps teachers, paper setters and boards ask a more meaningful question: what kind of learning is the examination actually measuring? If a question only asks students to define, list or recall, it mainly assesses awareness. If a question asks students to analyse a situation, understand different viewpoints, respond to a dilemma or consider the social impact of an action, it assesses sensitivity. If a question asks students to design, propose, imagine, improve or solve a real-life problem, it assesses creativity. In this way, the taxonomy helps examinations move from simple recall to deeper learning. PARAKH’s assessment approach also supports different levels of learner performance, such as Basic, Proficient and Advanced. 

Through Awareness, Sensitivity and Creativity, PARAKH provides for designing competency-based questions, rubrics, classroom tasks, projects and Holistic Progress Cards. This common language can support teachers and boards in aligning assessment with the larger goals of NEP and NCF-SE. The PARAKH Taxonomy also strengthens the idea of balanced question papers. A balanced question paper is not merely a paper with marks distributed across chapters. It is a paper that is balanced in terms of content, competencies, learning outcomes, question types, difficulty levels and cognitive demand. In the context of PARAKH’s work, a balanced question paper should be developed through a clear blueprint. The blueprint should show which Curricular Goals are being addressed, which competencies are being assessed, which learning outcomes are being covered, what content domains are represented, what types of questions will be used and how marks will be distributed. It should also ensure that questions are spread across different levels of difficulty. When the design of the question paper changes, the culture of classroom learning also begins to change.

Some questions may test basic understanding. Some may test application in familiar situations. Some may require students to interpret unfamiliar contexts, compare ideas, justify responses or propose solutions. This makes the question paper more valid, fair and meaningful. Balanced question papers also make evaluation more reliable. When questions are linked with competencies, learning outcomes and clear scoring guides, evaluators can assess student responses more consistently. This reduces subjectivity and improves fairness. It also helps students understand that marks are not awarded only for reproducing textbook lines, but for showing understanding, reasoning, clarity, relevance and originality. In this way, balanced question papers transform the examination from a tool of pressure into a tool of meaningful assessment.

For example, in Social Science, an awareness-based question may ask students to explain the meaning of democracy. A sensitivity-based question may present a situation where different groups have different needs and ask students to suggest a fair response. A creativity-based question may ask students to design a local campaign to increase voter awareness. Similarly, in Science, an awareness-based question may ask students to explain water conservation. A sensitivity-based question may ask them to reflect on unequal access to water in a community. A creativity-based question may ask them to propose a practical water-saving plan for their school or neighbourhood. These examples show how one topic can be assessed at different levels of thinking.

One major area of PARAKH’s work is the development of Holistic Progress Cards. The Holistic Progress Card supports the NEP vision of 360-degree assessment. It moves away from a narrow marks-based report card and documents the learner’s progress through multiple forms of evidence. It captures learners’ progress across curricular elements through competency-based and multidisciplinary activities. The HPC is important for examination reform because it changes the culture of assessment. It reminds schools that learning cannot be represented only by one final mark. The HPC also supports the mapping of learner progress with PARAKH’S Taxonomy. This means that the learner’s growth is not recorded in isolation. It is connected with what the curriculum intends the learner to achieve and what competencies the learner is gradually developing. 

A student’s learning can be seen through many forms of evidence. Classroom participation, projects, portfolios, self-reflection, peer inputs, teacher observations and parent inputs all help in understanding learner progress. The Holistic Progress Card also records the pedagogy used during teaching. This helps connect classroom practices with learner growth. It includes space for teacher reflection and learner reflection. It also gives importance to project-based work, individual activities and group-based tasks. Through these sections, the HPC helps schools recognise critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, emotional development along with academic learning.

PARAKH is also working on the equivalence of school boards. India has many educational boards, including state boards, central boards and international boards. These boards differ in curriculum, assessment design, difficulty levels, question paper patterns, evaluation practices and administrative systems. This diversity is valuable, but it can also create unequal recognition if standards vary too widely. PARAKH has therefore been entrusted with the responsibility of setting common standards to assess students’ learning outcomes across educational boards.

Equivalence does not mean that every board must become identical. It means that comparable learning should receive comparable recognition. PARAKH has worked on this through tools such as Question Paper Templates and the Equivalence Questionnaire. The Question Paper Templates help analyse difficulty levels, nature of questions and types of questions used by boards. The Equivalence Questionnaire gathers academic and administrative information about boards. Based on this analysis, PARAKH’s recommendations cover areas such as administration, assessment, curriculum, infrastructure and inclusiveness.This work is directly connected to NEP’s examination reforms. If students are to receive flexibility, subject choice, mobility and fair certification, then board systems must become more comparable. A learner should not be advantaged or disadvantaged simply because of the board in which they study. Equivalence of boards also supports the long-term credit framework because comparable assessment standards are necessary for recognising academic, vocational and experiential learning.

PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan is another important step in implementing examination reform. It provides large-scale evidence about student learning across the country. Such surveys help the system understand learning levels, identify gaps and plan interventions. They provide evidence for improving curriculum, pedagogy, teacher support and assessment practices. This connects directly with NEP’s idea that assessment should be used for developmental purposes. Large-scale assessments are not meant only to produce rankings. They help the system move from assumption-based planning to evidence-based improvement.

PARAKH is also supporting examination reform through digital systems such as the Integrated Test Management System. PARAKH ITMS is a digital ecosystem for competency-based and multidisciplinary assessment. It supports question development, taxonomy-aligned blueprint design, question paper generation, secure printing and assessment monitoring. It enables each question to be mapped with Curricular Goals, competency codes, learning outcomes, content domains, difficulty levels, estimated time and stimulus material. This mapping is important because it ensures that every assessment item has a clear purpose. It also helps boards and teachers check whether a question paper is balanced, competency-based and aligned with the intended learning standards.

Competency-based assessment cannot depend only on individual effort. It needs trained question writers, reviewers, translators, moderators and evaluators. It needs question banks, blueprints, secure workflows and regular quality checks. Digital systems can support this cycle and help make assessment more transparent, consistent and secure. They can also support the long-term vision of modular, flexible and on-demand examinations.

The implementation of examination reforms also requires inclusion. NEP 2020 recognises that many classrooms include children with specific learning disabilities who need continuous support. It recommends early identification, flexible curricula, appropriate technology and suitable assessment and certification systems. It also expects assessment and certification agencies, including PARAKH, to formulate guidelines and recommend tools to ensure equitable access and opportunities for such learners. This makes examination reform not only an academic issue but also an equity issue. A reformed examination system must be fair to learners with different strengths, needs, backgrounds and circumstances.

Taken together, NEP 2020, NCF-SE 2023 and PARAKH’s initiatives show a major shift in Indian assessment. The movement is from rote learning to competency-based assessment. It is from one-time high-stakes examinations to multiple opportunities and improvement. It is from rigid annual testing to the possibility of modular and on-demand examinations. It is from narrow subject streams to flexible choices. It is from marks-only reporting to holistic progress. It is from uneven board practices to equivalence and common standards. It is from memory-based question papers to balanced, taxonomy-aligned and competency-mapped assessment. It is from system judgement to system improvement.

The journey is ambitious and will require sustained effort. Boards need capacity building. Teachers and paper setters need training. Students and parents need orientation. Demonstration-based assessment requires clear rubrics, external moderation and practical feasibility. Digital systems need infrastructure, security and careful implementation. States and boards may also move at different speeds. Therefore, reform must be gradual, collaborative and evidence-based. PARAKH’s role becomes crucial because it can provide standards, frameworks, tools, surveys, training support and a common language of assessment across the country. The implementation of examination reforms as per NEP 2020 marks a historic movement towards a fairer and more learner-centred education system. The purpose is to make exams more meaningful. The purpose is not to reduce rigour. The purpose is to align rigour with real learning. The purpose is not only to certify students at the end of schooling. The purpose is to support them throughout their learning journey.

PARAKH’s work gives practical shape to this vision. Through the PARAKH Taxonomy, balanced question papers, mapping of Curricular Goals, Competencies and Learning Outcomes, Holistic Progress Cards, equivalence of boards, large-scale assessments, digital assessment systems and competency-based frameworks, PARAKH is helping India move towards examinations that value understanding, application, sensitivity, creativity and holistic development. When examinations begin to change, classrooms also begin to change. That is the deeper promise of NEP 2020 and PARAKH’s assessment reform agenda!