National Assessment Survey

The National Achievement Survey (NAS) is a large-scale, nationally representative assessment conducted by the Government of India to evaluate and measure the learning outcomes of school children across the country. It is a key initiative under the Ministry of Education, designed to assess the performance of students in government and government-aided schools, from Grades 3, 5, 8, and 10, in subjects such as Mathematics, Language, Environmental Science, Science, and Social Science.

Objectives of NAS:

1:Providing a Systemic Overview: By collecting data on students’ academic performance, NAS helps to provide a comprehensive picture of the quality of education in schools across India, including Uttar Pradesh.

2.Monitoring Educational Progress: It helps in tracking progress over time in terms of learning outcomes, offering valuable insights into how well education policies and interventions are working.

3.Guiding Policy and Decision-Making: NAS data assists policymakers and administrators in identifying areas where improvement is needed, enabling evidence-based decision-making.

4.Supporting Schools and Teachers: It offers feedback to teachers and schools, helping them understand how well students are performing in key learning areas and identify gaps in teaching-learning practices.

Structure and Implementation:

•The NAS is conducted on a sample basis, covering a wide range of schools from rural and urban areas. This ensures a diverse representation of students from across all regions, including Uttar Pradesh.

•It assesses students' competencies in the core subject areas based on the learning outcomes defined by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

•The survey involves Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and includes questions designed to assess higher-order thinking, problem-solving, and application of knowledge.

The NAS 2021 focused on capturing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning outcomes. It provided crucial insights into how disruptions in schooling have affected student learning levels. For Uttar Pradesh, the data has been instrumental in guiding post-pandemic recovery strategies, especially for foundational literacy and numeracy. The NAS results are a crucial tool for implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which aims to improve the overall quality of education across the country. In Uttar Pradesh, the Department of Basic Education is committed to leveraging NAS data to strengthen foundational learning through programs like NIPUN Bharat, ensuring that every child achieves grade-appropriate learning outcomes.