CHENNAI: A first-of-its-kind State-Level Achievement Survey that tested 9,80,341 students in Classes 3, 5 and 8 has found that the average mark scored by Class 8 students in Mathematics and Science barely crossed 40.
The survey, jointly conducted by the State Planning Commission, Samagra Shiksha, SCERT, and the Directorates of School Education and Elementary Education, covered 66% of students enrolled in Classes 3,5 and 8 in all 45,924 government and government-aided schools across the state.
The primary school students of Tamil Nadu, however, have shown improvement in Tamil language skills, the survey showed.
Compared to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) of 2011, the average scores of students in all subjects in these classes have gone up, except in Mathematics in Class 3, where the score declined from 57% to 54%.
As per the report’s district-wise performance data, Kanniyakumari, Cuddalore, Madurai, Tenkasi and Sivagangai were the top-performing districts. Nilgiris, Erode, Chengalpattu, Chennai and Coimbatore performed poorly. Many of the poorly-performing districts are located in North and West Tamil Nadu (except Tiruvarur in the East and Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu).
The OMR-based test had 35 questions on Tamil, English, Mathematics and Environmental Science (EVS) subjects for Class 3, and 45 questions on Tamil, English, Mathematics, EVS-Science and EVS-Social Science for Class 5. Students of Class 8 had to answer 50 questions on Tamil, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science for Class 8.
One of the most concerning findings was that the average score in Mathematics dropped from 57% (NAS 2021 state average) to 54% in Class 3. While there were improvements in all other subjects when compared to the NAS survey—Tamil (67%), English (69%) and Environmental Science (76%)— the students were found to be lacking in foundational numeracy. As per the NAS 2021 survey, the state-level average for the students in Class 3 was 64 in Tamil and English and 60 in EVS.
In Class 5, scores improved across all the subjects compared to NAS 2021. Score in Tamil to 76% (from 52% in Tamil and English), Maths to 57% (from 44%), and EVS to 57% (from 48%). However, students lagged in English with an average score of 51%. This indicates the need for interventions in the teaching-learning practices of Mathematics, EVS and English, the report said.
By Class 8, the situation became more concerning. Average scores were just 52% in Tamil, 39% in English, 38% in Mathematics, 37% in Science, and 54% in Social Science. While they were better than the average state and national scores in NAS 2021, the report stated that the average performance of students across subjects is poor, as it is almost 50% or below the total score.
The report recommends targeted interventions, especially in under-performing districts and continued support for programmes like Ennum Ezhuththum, which have shown positive results. Speaking after the release of the report, J Jeyaranjan, executive vice-chairman of the State Planning Commission, said the survey offers comprehensive data on student performance, which would enable the education department to assess outcomes at the district, block and even school levels and plan interventions accordingly.
He attributed the poor performance of Class 8 students to learning gaps caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “While there have been improvements due to initiatives like Ennum Ezhuththum and Illam Thedi Kalvi, which helped to bridge the learning gap caused by Covid-19, there is still scope for improvement,” he said, adding that this is the first time such an initiative is conducted by TN.
He further said that the accuracy of the survey has also been assessed by a third party. Jeyaranjan also noted that the survey would be conducted annually by the state planning commission, and the school education department would soon hold discussions to decide on the next steps to improve learning outcomes.
School education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in February had announced that the state would release the report to counter the ASER report, which BJP president K Annamalai and Governor RN Ravi have cited to question the state’s education standards. Jeyaranjan said that the survey process started way ahead and both assessments differ in their methodologies.
Benchmark
The survey tested 66% of students in Classes 3, 5 and 8 of govt, aided schools.
Among the students surveyed, 51% are girls and 49% are boys.
The survey covered all 45,924 govt and aided schools in Tamil Nadu.
A maximum of 20 students each in Classes 3 and 5, and 30 students of Class 8 were tested in each class.
Wherever the count was less, all students were tested.
Top-performing blocks
Thuckalay, Kanniyakumari
Thiruvattar, Kanniyakumari
Arni, Tiruvannamalai
Usilampatti, Madurai
Kurunthancode, Kanniyakumari
Least-performing blocks
Royapuram Central, Chennai
St Thomas Mount, Chengalpattu
Thondamuthur, Coimbatore
Vennandur, Namakkal
Salem-Rural, Salem