Assessment: Grade 3, 5 students to be given tests

Tests will be held in 220 public and 120 PEF-partner schools.

LAHORE: The School Education Department (SED) has written a letter to executive district officers (EDOs) to prepare for monthly assessment of select public and Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) partner schools.

The letter says: “The department has decided to improve quality of education by measuring students’ learning outcomes through six-monthly assessments of Grade-3 and Grade-5 students of government schools as well as PEF-partner schools.”

According to the letter, the assessments will be held from September 21 to October 4. Students will be assessed for Urdu, mathematics and English. The tests will be held in 220 government schools and 120 PEF-partner schools across the province.

The letter reads: “EDOs are required to take the assessment seriously. They should motivate teachers to prepare the students for the test by reviewing sample papers.” Education officers will perform invigilation duties when the test is given.

“EDOs are requested to arrange invigilation training for education officers in September 2016 in their districts. The invigilation staff is directed to ensure there is no cheating during the test.”

“District monitoring officers (DMOs) will ensure the distribution of question papers and dispatching of solved question papers to the School Reforms Roadmap Team on the same day. The delivery team, the EDOs, the DMOs and the DEOs shall pay surprise visits during the test hours.”

The representatives of the team will visit the schools and submit their observations to the department for action against inefficient invigilators.

An SED official said that the assessments were part of the Student Learning Outcome Programme of the government. “A total of 340 schools have been selected throughout the province for the tests. Sample papers have been dispatched to the EDOs. The department has issued instructions to circulate sample papers among primary schools, middle schools and high schools with primary sections,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.