ConveGenius Insights (CGI), an educational assessment platform, has conducted a first-of-its-kind state-wide assessment for the Himachal Pradesh Samagra Shiksha department in partnership with Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
According to a press release, the large-scale assessment will help develop a remedial learning strategy for the state after understanding the post-COVID student learning outcomes.
The digital assessment took place among 21,309 students across 1,115 schools in 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh. The students of Class 4, 6, and 9 were assessed for mathematics and language using scientific assessment methodologies like Item Response Theory and Rasch Model. The assessment registered a participation rate of 83% (w.r.t the enrolments) as all stakeholders provided their full support to successfully implement the forward-looking digital assessment model despite logistic challenges in the Himalayan state.
Varun Dutt, Assessment Lead, ConveGenius Insights, said,
“This is a watershed moment in the landscape of large-scale education assessments. CGI, with HP Samagra Shiksha’s support, has successfully executed the largest tablet-based assessment in India and probably globally too. The learnings from this study will be critical and will act as a guiding light for executing similar large-scale digital assessments in other geographies.”
“Technology gives us the power to constantly innovate and improve assessment platforms (with built-in features to reduce malpractices during assessments), better student experience and improve data quality. It provides near real-time data to support administrators and policymakers to nudge education. Digital assessments are the future and are here to stay.”
Jairaj Bhattacharya, Co-Founder & Managing Director at ConveGenius, said,
“Himachal’s tab-based assessment is the first time that an education assessment has been conceptualised and implemented across the state using tablets. It is a technology-led disruption in the assessment segment as earlier the assessments were done on pen and paper, which took 2-3 months. Our model helps improve the pace and integrity of data collection. We have also solved an online-offline problem, especially for remote areas where internet connectivity may be intermittent.”
Aditya Chopra, Vice-President of Samagra, said,
“We were pleased to partner with ConveGenius Insights (CGI) for conducting a first-of-its-kind tablet-based third-party assessment for the state of Himachal Pradesh. The assessment has helped the state government to establish a baseline of learning levels of students, which was essential post-shutdown of schools due to Covid-19. Leveraging insights from this assessment, we are designing programs under the Samarth program for the systemic transformation of education in the state. The government has adopted technology and data in a big way, and we are excited with the opportunities ahead.”
Samar Bajaj, Director, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation India, LLP, said,
“Apart from the extensive use of technology, where tablets were used to test 20,000+ students, CGI stands out for reliable and faster testing. The large-scale assessments have provided a ‘system-level’ view of learning and identifying trends, leading to interventions like an intensive catch-up program, each student’s workbooks, and a digital content repository. We are hoping other states will replicate implementing similar data-driven solutions.”
ConveGenius Insights (CGI) has pioneered models to develop modern measurement techniques in education. The services include a range of assessments that suit the requirements for action on the ground and the diversity of India.
ConveGenius was founded in 2013 by Jairaj Bhattacharya and Shashank Pandey with a mission to guarantee quality education for the bottom 100 million students in India. With the newly launched SwiftChat platform, the company plans to scale its vision beyond education to all knowledge services and expand globally, targeting 1 billion households.
