In a significant move, several schools affiliated with CBSE in Kochi have made a shift in their evaluation process, replacing traditional marks and grades with emojis, and stars. This shift is in line with the NEP 2020 and CBSE guidelines.
Holistic report card to be provided
From this academic year, students from Kindergarten to class 2 will get holistic report cards, focusing on evaluating children based on their activities rather than traditional written exams. The new system emphasises skill development in communication, active learning, and overall health and well-being.
Marks over skills
The new system emphasises skill development in communication, active learning, and overall health and well-being. Instead of traditional questions, the students will be assessed based on their project work, inquiry-based tasks, quizzes, and group activities, which will test their cognitive, emotional and social abilities, as well as physical coordination. In addition to teacher evaluations, students are encouraged to self-assess and feedback is also gathered from peers and parents.
Positive feedback
This initiative has received positive feedback from CBSE Management Association President Ibrahim Khan. He praised its potential to build social skills and reduce performance pressure. However, Central University of Kerala's Amruth G Kumar said that the creativity of the teachers is crucial to avoid monotony in evaluation methods while agreeing that emojis might connect better with students. The change towards innovative assessment methods reflects a growing emphasis on skills development over scores, collaborative evaluations, and student-centric approaches.
