4.5 lakh teachers get ready for new evaluation system

Updated on: Friday, April 15, 2011

Over 4.5 lakh teachers in the state have been trained for the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) under the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 since it was enacted last April.

The CCE replaces the well-entrenched unit and semester test-based evaluation system and training the teachers is critical for its success as they are the most vital component in the implementation of RTE. The city-based Maharashtra State Council for Education Research and Training (MSCERT) has been training teachers, conducting workshops, educating them on the CCE element, addressing queries in order to ensure smooth functioning of the act in the state.

The council has also published an RTE handbook for teachers to be used as a guide during classroom sessions.

MSCERT official Kalyan Panage, who has been at the helm of the training programme, said, “The act mandates that teachers must follow the new evaluation system which has been overhauled. Hence, the teachers require training.” Since the act came into effect from the 2010-11 academic year, assessment has been purely on "broad-based learning and behavioural outcome" in class. Assessment is based on two parameters – formative and summative – and the students will be graded instead of being given marks. The semester examination at the end of first term has been replaced by the first summative assessment based on written material, oral and practical forms of examination.

Rajesh Mane, a teacher from a Zilla Parishad school in Rajgurunagar who attended this workshop, said, "We had several issues with the RTE once we started implementing it in our daily teaching. The training has helped us solve many difficulties that we face daily."
"We have been continuously conducting discussions with teachers on difficulties they face in their day-to-day teaching with CCE. Teachers have been addressing their problems in implementing the CCE even as further improvement in implementation is being done," Panage said.

The weightage for summative evaluation will be 30 per cent and the remaining 70 per cent for formative evaluation for standards I and II. Similarly, for standards III and IV students, 40 per cent weightage will be given for summative and 60 per cent for formative, for standards V and VI equal (50 per cent) weightage will be given to summative and formative evaluation, standards VII and VIII will have 60 per cent weightage will be given to summative and 40 per cent to formative evaluation. The same process will apply for the second term.

"Formative evaluation will include daily observation of the students' behaviour and interaction with classmates, oral tasks, practical, activities, projects, surprise tests, open book tests, homework and class work. Summative evaluation will be done twice a year, which will be based on oral/ practical and written work, and bear 30 per cent weightage. It will vary at various levels from standard 1 to VIII. Grades will be given to students ranging from A1 to E2," said Panage.

The government has defined eight tools, and class teachers will have to use the maximum tools to assess students based on the subjects.

Eight tool of assessment

* Daily observation

* Oral tasks (question answers, comprehension reading, elocution, interview, group discussion)

* Practical/ experiments

* Activities (individual, group)

* Projects

* Surprise tests and open-book test

* Homework/classwork (essay, story writing, letter-writing, descriptive writing and compositions)

* Questionnaire, self-study, group activity

4.5 lakh teachers get ready for new evaluation system

More Education news