2% to 49%: Ggm students better their SAT score
While Jhajjar topped list with 61% success rate, Yamunanagar finished last with only 27% of students getting more than half-way mark in exams
GURUGRAM: The performance of government school students in classes 9 to 12 in the district has improved notably in the Student Assessment Test (SAT) held last month with 49% of students passing the test this time as compared to just 2% in May this year.
The district’s pass percentage for classes 1 to 8 was the best in the state at 73% in the result declared on Monday.
The education department conducts the SAT in all government schools in the state four times a year to assess the learning ability of students.
In the September test, around 49% of students in the district managed to score 50%, the passing percentage, and above in the state while Jhajjar topped the list with 61%. Yamunanagar finished last with only 27% of students getting more than the half-way mark in the exams.
The same results in May were in complete contrast to those of September, as only 2% of the students in Gurugram were able to clear the test. Even Nuh students had done better than the students in the district with 14% managing to clear the exam.
Indu Boken, district education officer, said, “Teachers are putting in more effort. They are giving extra time to students by either coming in early or staying late. The last period in the school is meant to clear students’ doubts. Many students, who are not able to understand a certain concept, approach the teacher during this period so that no doubts remain.”
Teachers also said that the extra period has changed the way students approach studies. Santosh Saini, a guest teacher at the Government Senior Secondary School, Kasan, said, “Students come to us with their problems and we make sure that every formula is well understood so that they don’t have to take tuition classes. As many students come from a poor background, they can’t afford private extra classes. If we can do our bit, there is no doubt the results will be better.” Though the district has improved from the 20th spot in May, it is still behind eight districts.
In the state, 25% of students managed to clear their Class 9 exams with 50% and higher, followed by 30% of students in Class 10, 54% students in Class 11 and 69% in Class 12. Surinder Singh, head of testing and assessment, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) said, “The SAT exams are an eyeopener for the teachers so that they know where the students stand. The exams comprised objective and comprehensive questions and were held for the duration of one hour.”
For the lower classes, SAT results show that 90% of students in Class 1 in the district can identify and speak action words with the help of pictures. Around 87% of students of Class 2 know the order of numbers and 88% of the children in Class 8 know what the Indian Constitution is. Prem Lata Yadav, district elementary education officer, said, “Our teachers have worked hard with the children to ensure they learn their concepts well\t. Now, the task will be to make sure that they maintain this level of results.”
As part of the process, the assessment results are further shared with the district education officers to evaluate the performance of not just the students but also teachers. This is followed by classes under the learning enhancement programme to bridge the gap. The next SAT exam will be held in November.