Over 75 per cent of teachers feel that their workload has increased with regard to lesson planning, question paper setting, creating progress reports and assessing students since the introduction of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation(CCE) introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), reveals a study.
The study was conducted by Chrysalis, an organisation working with education, research and innovation in association with Wipro Applying Thought in Schools.
The study, carried out in 123 schools and took inputs from 757 teachers, involved detailed questionnaires and focus group discussions as well.
Re-envisioning evaluation
The CCE system sought to expand the idea of evaluation from mere written examinations to a range of activities, interactive sessions and tests. The assessments under the system — both formative and summative — contribute to the final score at the end of the academic year.
“The study shows that only 2 per cent of the teachers mentioned ‘feedback and improvement’ when asked what the purpose of the assessment was. This shows that there has been a dilution and miscommunication in understanding the purpose of the CCE across institutions,” said Chitra Ravi, Founder and CEO of Chrysalis.
“When the CCE system is not implemented in its right spirit, the purpose with which it was conceived fails to trickle down to the students. We need to redefine the purpose of the system so that it can be implemented in its true sense and not just be seen as something that has cumbersome tests and and planning,” she noted.
Evaluation needed
The CBSE recently called for a survey on CCE implementation across schools to understand its adoption and acceptance by stakeholders as well as examine challenges faced by the system.
While a majority of the schools in Chennai have implemented the CCE system from middle school to Class X, a few others have begun to implement the system from Class I itself.
A teacher noted that the CCE had helped bring up the marks of the average student with its assessment methods that last throughought the year.
“However, the number of activities and extra papers needed mean that the burden on teachers has definitely increased,” she said.
