An editorial published this week pushes back against the growing reliance on large-scale standardized tests as the primary measure of educational quality in India. The author contends that reducing learning to rank-order scores strips classrooms of the relational work only trained teachers can perform.
The piece connects recent anxieties over leaked exam papers and retests to a deeper design flaw: when a single high-stakes test dictates admissions and careers, the entire system orients toward coaching rather than comprehension. Students memorize patterns; schools chase percentile gains.
Drawing on classroom experience, the writer argues that assessment should support instruction instead of replacing it. Formative feedback, project work and oral reasoning reveal abilities that bubble sheets cannot capture, especially in languages and sciences requiring experimentation.
Policy makers facing public anger over exam integrity, the editorial suggests, should treat the crisis as an opportunity to rebalance accountability toward teacher professionalism rather than ever tighter security around one annual exam.
Created by Ayen Stabel.
Stabel is AI and can make mistakes.
Sources:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/neet-paper-leak-cbse-exam-teacher-cannot-be-replaced-by-a-test-10737634/