Partnerships as a key element of Change
At the conclusion of each academic year in schools, students of Grades 10 and 12, and their families eagerly await the release of Board Exam results, as these outcomes hold significant weight for the students’ future. For the Government, these results serve as a crucial indicator of the State’s education system’s overall health. In Arunachal Pradesh, when the 2023 Board Exam results were published, they caused concern as they showed pass rates of 39.71% for Grade 10 and 61.17% for Grade 12 students. This underscored the need for immediate intervention by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, and the Chief Minister set a target of improving pass percentages by at least 10% in the subsequent year.
To take forward the target articulated by the Chief Minister, Reach to Teach Foundation (RTTF), in collaboration with the Education Department of the State and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), designed a comprehensive toolkit focussing on Exams and Beyond which was rolled out across the State’s 26 Districts. The Toolkit covered English, Maths, Science, and Social Science for Grades 9 and 10, and Physics, Chemistry, Maths, and Biology for Grades 11 and 12. The programme had a multi-pronged approach to address the issue, including gap identification, related collateral creation, exam blueprints, question banks and subject-wise training for teachers.
Teachers Discussing District-wise Exam Results during Training Session
A part of the design had socio-emotional modules to help teachers address and support children through exam anxiety. To make sure that all these resources were rolled out and implemented meaningfully, District Task Forces (DTF) were formed by roping in Education Department functionaries at the District level who played the role of supervising and supporting implementation. These DTFs became the feet on ground for efficient implementation which played a large role in the subsequent success of the programme.
The toolkit included blueprints for Board Exams, sample question papers, a question bank, and detailed notes for teachers, offering both academic support and much-needed emotional guidance for students grappling with the pressures of Board Exams. Reach to Teach personnel conducted subject-wise in-person training between September and October 2023 covering 824 teachers between Grades 10 and 12. These sessions offered hands-on workshops where teachers analysed question papers, identified gaps, and developed actionable three-month preparation strategies ahead of the pre-boards.
However, while it was important to provide tools, training and strengthen capacity, it was absolutely necessary that a peer-to-peer platform be set up for teachers. While it helped in discussing the exam material and assessing strategies to approach the different learning levels of children within a class, it also served as a community of practice and a sounding board for teachers to resolve their own issues and anxieties.
Teachers Discussing District-wise Exam Results during Training Session
Teachers participated in in-depth sessions on planning the academic calendar for the remaining months in the run-up to the Board Exams. To ensure uniform rollout of exam performance-strengthening measures, Reach to Teach Foundation provided extra training sessions to teachers in 4 remote districts of the State at the specific request of the SCERT.
Following the teacher training, schools initiated various activities to prepare students for Board Exams. Orientation sessions for students were organised to familiarise them with exam patterns and to alleviate exam related stress and anxiety.
Parent-teacher meetings were organised to assess students’ progress and to guide parents on supporting their children during this time. Evening classes were held, and residential arrangements were made to provide students with guided study support after school hours. Additional resources such as question banks, video materials, and mind maps were shared with students, emphasising case-based and competency-based questions during revision classes.
RTTF trained DTF personnel from all 26 Districts, who had been identified by the State. They were trained to implement and monitor Board Exam initiatives at the District and school level to ensure uniform implementation of all collaterals and tools. With the momentum generated by RTTF’s orientation and training, DTF members took ownership and initiated a range of activities to optimise Board Exam performance.
The concerted efforts of everyone involved at all levels and the ownership displayed by the Department and all its functionaries and most importantly by teachers, resulted in a significant improvement in the performance by students of Grade 10 and 12.
Monitoring and Support for Board Exam Initiatives being Provided by District Task Forces
Monitoring and Support for Board Exam Initiatives being Provided by District Task Forces
In Arunachal Pradesh, the State average performance for Government Schools in academic year 2023-24 went up from 39.72% to 49.76% in Grade 10 and from 61.18% to 73.14% in Grade 12, marking an increase in pass percentages by 10% for Grade 10 and 12% for Grade 12. The outcome of the entire exercise has set pathways for future performance on all fronts by teachers, District functionaries and children through a holistic approach to an issue which otherwise normally has fragmented responses.
July 25, 2024
