The chaotic Kerala secondary education - Continuous evaluation

Higher secondary results are out yesterday and I got  a chance to look at some of the results of my nieces and nephews. I have been an observer of Kerala education reforms that have taken place while I started my career in Kerala public education starting from DPEP to the establishment of higher secondary classes in schools. Overall, the goal of the State to revamp the curriculum and educational practices are good, but the surrounding confusion and lack of clarity in implementing their goals have made the department a target of jokes from the beginning. The faults and errors in executing them often causes public anxiety and uninformed people mistake the implementation errors to failure of the program. Recently, the 10th grade result that came out in record time just a couple of weeks after the exam, was full of errors. One of the mistakes was students getting passing grade when they didn't write the exam. Another issue that got magnified was grade inflation. If the general conscience  is that  public education is going down the drain, we can’t blame them. There are enough proofs around us that make us think that is the case.

As I was going through the results, It came to my attention that most all students got full marks for continuous evaluation(CE) which is part of the overall grade and that doesn’t correlate with their actual grades they are receiving on their final exams. If the continuous evaluation measures the progress of the students and if the teachers measure it to a perfect grade, then shouldn’t you expect that particular student to fair well on the final examination as well? Continues evaluation is not meant to give some freebies for the students so school can boast of a better result. What good is it going to do to students if teachers are not keeping them accountable? What use it is to have a grade when it doesn’t reflect on what your true abilities are?

What is continues evaluation

Continuous evaluation is the process of examining the students over a period of time. There are many pros using this type of evaluation to assess student achievement as opposed to one final examination. Some of them can be summarized as follows.

• It helps teachers get feedback on how well the students are learning and modify their instructional practices or perhaps through remedial teaching, can reinforce the concepts that were challenging to students.
• It helps students know whether they comprehend the materials being taught and adjust their study habits and seek help when needed.
• If students are evaluated continuously by various means such as homework, classwork and projects by establishing deadlines, students develop good work ethic and study habits which are more useful in the real world than any subject they study in a classroom.
• Continuous evaluation is also a comprehensive measure of what the student learned in that year. The more diverse assessment tools a teacher uses, the more diverse learners can be accommodated.

By not doing what it is supposed to do, this component of their grade, CE- continues evaluation - is hurting students in the long run than helping them.  Teachers should have proper training on how to continually assess students. More assessments means more work for teachers, but teachers should be willing to take it as part of their professional responsibility and systematically grade the assessments and record it. By the end of the year they can award the average of these assessments as the grade for CE. There can be a school wide policy or a statewide policy on how to categorize and weigh different assessments with rooms for creativity for teachers to experiment their own methods and intuitions that can fit in a classroom. These are the decisions that should be made at the state level.

Few challenges that I foresee

• Push back from teachers and administrators

Well, I am an educator, so I don’t mean disrespect to anyone. But continuous evaluation is a lot of responsibility on teachers which calls for lot of work and dedication. Teachers need to be on top of things like making up new assessments, designing projects, continuously researching and updating their knowledge and skills, grading the assessments and finally record keeping. There will be teachers who are used to not having such responsibilities and may push back. There will be administrators who want to have that free marks given to students so as to have a better school wide results. Proper training should remedy this and when teachers are equipped with the resources, they may be more willing to take up the challenge.

• Not enough resources for teachers

While Kerala is pretty connected by internet, there are number of schools without  computers or teachers who are not computer literates. Again, training the teachers and equipping them with the latest technology is the solution. At least in higher secondary level, this should be doable very cost effectively. Once they are connected, they can share their ideas with other teachers from the district who teach the same subject and support each other.

• lack of effective training

There are a lot of money and time spent on training. Teachers should utilize it effectively and people who are conducting the training need to be aware of the pitfalls of the system so they can remedy it through the training. Without any additional money spent, Training can be more effective if there is clarity as to what needs to change.

• Lack of foresight and supervision from hierarchy

There should be accountability on part of teachers and the school when it comes to awarding the students these grades. A student getting 20/20 in CE and getting 10/80 on the final exam definitely send a message that something is gone terribly wrong. Such cases needs to be identified and proper consequences for the school and the teacher should be established. It doesn’t require a lot of resources to do it. One look at the mark list of students are very revealing. District educational officers should be supervising these disparities and take the measure against the teacher and school as and when needed.

Teachers are professionals who need to act within a certain ethics. The type of education Kerala Education Department envisions also demand a set of dedicated teachers who will abide by the professional ethics and honor code and help students develop  their full potential. It is not easy to educate a population. Teachers have a huge responsibility which doesn't end when the students pass the class with an A plus. It is for the teachers along side the parents to instill virtues and values in a child and help build their character. Today's students are tomorrow's workforce. They will be the one who is treating us, building bridges, making things we use and educate the next generation. If we fail to bring up a strong generation, we fail ourselves. Helping these children grow up to be a responsible adult is the best we can do to make sure we have a better tomorrow.