Context: In a bid to assess the competencies of children in Class 3, 5 and 8 the first National Achievement Survey (NAS) in four years was conducted.
National Achievement Survey (NAS)

• NAS is a nationally representative large-scale survey of students’ learning undertaken by the Ministry of Education.
• It is implemented on a sample size aiming to assess students of 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th
• It gives a system level reflection on effectiveness of school education.
• The NCERT has developed the Assessment Framework for gauging the competencies attained by the student’s vis-a-vis learning outcomes.

Features of the Survey

• The Survey goes beyond the scorecard and includes the background variables to correlate student’s performance in different learning outcomes vis-a-vis contextual variables.
• The Survey was conducted in a monitored environment in the sampled schools.
• Selection of sampled schools was based on UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education) 2019-20 data.

Significance of NAS

• NAS findings would help diagnose learning gaps of students and determine interventions required in education policies, teaching practices and learning.
• Through its diagnostic report cards, NAS findings help in capacity building for teachers, officials involved in the delivery of education.
• This will help to assess the learning interruptions and new learnings during the COVID pandemic and help to take remedial measures.