EVALUATING INSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION PRACTICES ACROSS GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE LEARNING INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

Background: Educational evaluation is significant in determining teaching-learning processes and the quality and equity of education. The policies of successive education in India have focused on reforming practices of evaluation in order to shift towards non-examination-focused methods. Nevertheless, there are unexplored areas regarding the level of reflection of these reforms in institutional practices.

Purpose: The research has focused on investigating the institutional variations in educational assessment activities in government and private learning institutions and comparing the perceptions of stakeholders about evaluation in the National Policy on Education (1986) and the National Education Policy (2020).

Methodology: A qualitative exploratory-descriptive research design was used. A total of 120 respondents (60 students and 60 teachers) from the same number of government schools, private schools, DIET, colleges, and SCERT institutions in Delhi were used to collect the data. Primary data was collected using a structured online questionnaire, and the secondary data was collected using policy documents and academic literature. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation with the assistance of thematic analysis of the open-ended answers.

Results: The results show no statistically significant difference in perceived evaluation practices in NEP 1986 and NEP 2020. It was found that there was no significant difference between government and private institutions in that evaluation practices were the same across the institutional types. Also, there was a weak and nonsignificant correlation between all evaluation practices and socio-educational variables, as it was capable of lessening the incorporation of assessment with the overall classroom experiences.

Conclusion: The conclusion of the study is that, though there is progressive policy intent, the evaluation practices are mostly similar and standardised among institutions, and there is a gap between the policy vision and implementation.