SEF just kicked off assessments across partner schools in Delhi & Uttarakhand for the academic year 2023-24. These assessments are one of the ways for us to learn about our children’s learning levels and growth. However, in these few weeks, we have also witnessed the power and impact of a safe and loving environment on children.
We see our children laughing and excited to take assessments, pretending to have not taken the assessment so they can retake it, feeling safe enough to tell their assessor that they don’t know an answer, and being content with their progress.
“Mujhe aata nahi but main try karungi” – A Grade 2 student before starting assessments
There are 3 softer aspects of conducting safe assessments through which we create this experience to which children look back not with fear and insecurity but with pride and a sense of celebration:
- Honoring Children’s Agency | Simply checking in with children to understand their feelings and whether they’re prepared to take an assessment goes a long way. It gives them a chance to not engage in a process that may be unpleasant for them and return when they feel their best.
- Overtly Communicating Intent | Openly sharing the purpose of assessments and our intent behind knowing their learning levels helps children detach from the fear of punitive action and confidently engage in the process.
- Celebrating on the Go | Making growth visible to children at different stages of the assessments (especially on beginner learning levels) instantly motivates them. Everyone at SEF shows up as a cheerleader during assessments to make sure our children and doing their best
The cumulative impact of the assessments is best summarised in the words of Juhi (Grade 2). Noticing her own progress from struggling to recognise letters at the beginning of the academic year to completing a Level 1 Hindi reading passage during her assessment, she remarked “Main bohot khush hu, main poori Hindi pad paayi” (I’m very happy, I could read the entire Hindi passage).
These softer aspects are strongly interlinked with the culture in our schools and within the SEF Team. We strongly believe in consistently showing up with the values that we want our Government partners and children to embody, and assessments are one such process where we strive to bring this value shift.
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