NCERT devises new test to help school students opt for suitable stream

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed a test to identify the potential and inherent abilities of children to help them zero in on the streams they should opt for in higher classes.

The council's department of psychology and foundation of education is finalising the norms for the test, to be taken in Class 9, and is already conducting trial runs at regional institutes.

NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapaty confirmed they were working on such a test, and it will be implemented soon.

"We should not call this a test, because tests put an unnecessary burden on students. This is more about judging your aptitude. Though some students with problem-solving skills may excel in mathematics, that's not to say they won't do well in English. But this exercise will help them discover the techniques they already posses. This is no textbook-based test. It will check the perceptive ability and mechanical reasoning of students, among other factors," said a senior NCERT official.

Officials said the test will be made available to students at the individual-level too, at a later stage. The exercise will be divided into verbal and non-verbal sections, and possess seven sub-tests.

Besides testing the verbal, mechanical, abstract, spatial and perceptive rationale of the child, it will use diagrams and figures to assess



his/her reasoning abilities.

"Students, for instance, will be given a pattern and asked to find out how it will shape up through various steps taken in accordance with logic. As far as verbal reasoning is concerned, they will be initially assessed on the basis of language - from synonyms and meanings of proverbs to overall aptitude," the official said.

The test will focus on job-related abilities too, he added.

The test module is being tested at regional institutes of the NCERT, including Kendriya Vidyalayas.

Sources said the council has already held discussions with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), so it can be implemented in affiliated schools.

"We will provide the CBSE with all the tools and materials for the test, so it can be conducted at the convenience of its schools. We should be able to finish preparing it by the end of this year, so it can be put to use from 2018," said another NCERT official.

"Norms for the test are being finalised and tested. Though it has not been conceptualised as an online test so far, we hope to achieve that too. The test will run for 1.30 hours," the official said, adding that the exercise will act as an "additional tool" aimed at helping students make the right choice.

Other states are welcome to approach the NCERT if they also wish to make use of the test.