PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 paves way for evidence based educational reform

Jul 09, 2025

New Delhi [India], July 9 : In a landmark move towards competency-based education and data-driven reform, the Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, conducted by the NCERT's National Assessment Centre-PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), has delivered valuable insights into student learning outcomes across India, as per a release.
Spanning 21.15 lakh students, 74,229 schools, and 781 districts across all 36 States and UTs, the survey marks the largest system-level assessment conducted in India for Grades 3, 6, and 9. The assessment provides a baseline reflection of student competencies at the end of the Foundational, Preparatory, and Middle stages, aligning with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Key findings reveal encouraging trends, particularly at the foundational level. In language, girls performed slightly better than boys. Girls got an average score of 65 per cent, while boys got a score of 63 per cent. Both girls and boys achieved the same score of 60% in Mathematics.
Rural students slightly outperform their peers in both subjects. State Government schools led in Grade 3 outcomes, indicating the early success of the NIPUN Bharat Mission, the survey said.
At the Preparatory and Middle levels, Central Government schools emerged as top performers, while urban-rural and gender-based gaps pointed to areas for focused interventions.
The study highlights the pressing need to improve competencies in Mathematics and Science, particularly in higher grades and emphasizes the importance of gender-sensitive pedagogies, regional equity, and inclusive education.
With over 2.7 lakh teachers and school leaders contributing via questionnaires, the survey also sheds light on school environments, availability of digital tools, and student well-being. Worryingly, emotional stress among adolescents and limited access for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) point to systemic issues that require immediate attention.
Notably, due to alignment with the NEP 2020 stages, only Grade 3 scores remain comparable across the three cycles of the National Achievement Survey (now PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan)--2017, 2021, and 2024--as it is the common grade assessed in all three cycles. Comparison of Grade 6 and 9 scores with Grade 5 and 8 scores from previous rounds of NAS is likely to result in spurious conclusions due to change in the structure of the large-scale assessment.
Historically, learning outcomes are seen to decline progressively over Grades, hence a direct comparison of Grade 5 scores from NAS 2021/2017 with Grade 6 scores from PRS 2024 has to be treated with caution and could indicate loss in learning levels when there is none, the release said.
Coming to Grade 3, as per Item Response Theory (IRT) scores, 57 per cent of the students demonstrated proficiency or above in Language, while an impressive 65 per cent achieved similar levels in Mathematics in PRS 2024.
This marks a substantial improvement from NAS 2021, where only 39 per cent were proficient in Language and 42 per cent in Mathematics. Compared to NAS 2017, where proficiency levels were 47 per cent in Language and 53 per cent in Mathematics, the gains observed in PRS 2024 assume greater importance and indicate a complete recoupling of Covid-19-induced learning losses at the foundational stage, as far as proficiency is concerned.
While the national average in 2024 lags slightly behind 2017 levels, many States and UTs surpass their own past performances with an all-time high in 2024, demonstrating strong recovery and successful learning interventions. These include Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh etc.
Recent studies corroborate such trends and attribute this progress to targeted foundational learning initiatives, enhanced teacher training, and the implementation of NEP 2020 recommendations, especially those related to the NIPUN Bharat Mission.
This shift reflects a system-wide focus on building strong learning foundations in the early grades. It is the outcome of sustained reforms, close monitoring, and continued support to schools.
As India moves toward achieving the goal of universal foundational literacy and numeracy under Mission NIPUN Bharat, the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 findings offer both validation and momentum for ongoing efforts to strengthen early-grade learning systems. Foundational performance constitutes an important component of SDG 4, which is tracked globally.
The marked improvement observed at the foundational stage is expected to drive India's performance in SDG 4.1.1, which measures the "proportion of children and young people in Grade 2 or 3; at the end of primary education; and at the end of lower secondary education achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics.
The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 stands as a watershed moment in India's school educational landscape. Its results will not only help in curriculum redesign, resource allocation, and textbook development, but also ensure that every child, regardless of background, is equipped with the skills and support needed to thrive in the 21st century.
As the nation moves towards evidence-based educational transformation, the findings of PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 will serve as a compass for future policies, ensuring no learner is left behind.