Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Schools across Goa will follow a new approach to evaluating students from Classes I to VIII during the 2026-27 academic year, with SCERT introducing an assessment system designed to look beyond examination marks.
The new framework places greater importance on what students understand and how they use their knowledge. Along with academic learning, schools will consider areas such as reasoning, creativity, communication, practical abilities, teamwork and problem-solving.
A major change is the introduction of the Holistic Progress Card (HPC). Instead of presenting a student’s performance mainly through marks and grades, the new card will document different aspects of a child’s development, including academic achievement, competencies, participation, behaviour, skills and social-emotional growth.
The assessment method will differ according to the stage of schooling. Children in Classes I and II will be evaluated through internal school assessments, while students from Classes III to VIII will face a combination of ongoing and end-stage assessments linked to prescribed learning outcomes.
Teachers will also have a wider range of tools to evaluate children. These will include classroom observations, projects, portfolios, peer reviews, self-evaluation and competency-based rubrics. Student portfolios will be maintained through the year to record academic work, activities outside the classroom and other aspects of development.
SCERT has instructed schools to redesign assessment papers to give more weight to questions that require students to apply their knowledge, rather than simply reproduce information from textbooks.
The framework will assess competencies across different stages of school education and include areas such as communication, cooperation, problem-solving, values and attitudes.
Schools will also be expected to use assessment results as a tool for improving learning. Teachers will have to share feedback with parents and students regularly, identify difficulties at an early stage and provide additional support wherever required.
The changes are part of Goa’s ongoing implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, which advocates a broader and more competency-oriented approach to school education.
The new assessment system is being introduced while the government continues to examine the future of the no-detention policy. For 2026-27, the State had decided to retain the policy for Classes V and VIII pending further clarity following changes to the Right to Education Rules.
