PANAJI: The Goa board on Tuesday released a policy document that outlines an alternative method to assess Class X and XII students for this academic year should the pandemic situation persist. It has said that the deliberations began after the 2021 public exams could not be held due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the policy, during the academic year 2021-22, the board — and not the school — will conduct each of the two term-end exams.
Thus, this academic year and its syllabus will be divided into two terms. One would end in November-December, and the other in March-April.
In the first terminal exams, students will be assessed based on multiple choice questions. The second term will consist of assessments based on subjective questions.
Marks of the first term as well as the second term examination will contribute to the final overall score of the student, the Board has stated.
The Board has called for objections and suggestions up to August 10.
The policy also permits schools to get ‘creative’ with its internal assessments.
For Classes X and XII, as per the policy, internal assessments will be conducted throughout the year. Of the three periodic tests that schools will be required to conduct as part of the internal assessment, the third test would be required to assess students ‘creatively’, besides through practical work and other activities, the Board has said.
“That will also include unit test/exploratory activities/practical projects. Schools would create a student profile for all assessments undertaken over the year, and retain the evidence in digital format. Guidelines for internal assessment for all subjects will also be released along with the rationalised term-wise divided syllabus for the session 2021-2022,” the policy reads.
Additional resources like sample assessments, question banks, teacher training, etc, for more reliable and valid internal assessment, will be provided, the Board has said.
The Board has also said that efforts will be made to make internal assessment, practical and project work “more credible and valid” and will have to be strictly carried out by schools as per the guidelines to be notified by the Board to ensure fair distribution of marks.
The Board has said the policy was also framed due to several concerns over internet connectivity, availability of gadgets for students, etc.
“The Board has also considered the concerns regarding differential availability of electronic gadgets, connectivity and effectiveness of online teaching and other socio-economic issues especially with respect to students from economically weaker sections and those residing in far-flung areas of the state,” the document states.
Assessments may be carried out in the offline or online mode based on the pandemic situation.
“Goa Board had to cancel Class X and Class XII board exams of 2020-2021 as it was risky to conduct them in the second wave in April 2021,” it said, explaining its rationale. “The results of both were declared on the basis of objective, flexible and valid alternative assessment policy. This, in turn, also necessitated deliberations over alternative ways to look at the learning objectives as well as the conduct of the board examinations for the academic session 2021-22 in case the situation remains unfeasible.”
