For example, the performance of students in all four classes in science was 37 per cent, the same as the national average. In English, the state average was 44 per cent, against the national average of 43 per cent. In social sciences, both the state and the national average was 38 per cent. In Mathematics the state average was 39 against the national average of 42 per cent. In environmental studies, the state performance is at 49 per cent against the national average of 53 per cent.

However, a comparison with the performance of students in NAS-2017 shows a clear decline. A categorization of students on performance levels shows that most of the students in almost all four classes fall in the category of “below basic” or “basic”.

In Mathematics the students of class 3 scored 330 (in scaled scores out of 500) in 2017, but the same has now reduced to 291. Around 70 per cent of the students were found to be in the basic or below basic category in the subject. In environmental studies, the score has reduced to 296 from 333 in 2017. Around 66 per cent of students were in the basic or below basic category in the subject. The language skills among students have also reduced with students of class 3 scoring just 311 against 347 in 2017. Around 69 per cent of students were in the basic or below basic category.

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For class 5 the performance in language skills has reduced to 304 from 338 in 2017. Over 62 per cent of students had just the basic or below basic knowledge. In Mathematics the score in NAS-2021 is 275 against 326 in 2017. Only 18 per cent of the students in class 5 are found to have proficient or advanced skills, leaving 82 per cent of students in the basic or below basic category. The scores have reduced for environmental studies too and the same was 278 in NAS-2021 against 327 in 2017.

The performance has reduced among students of class 8 too. The performance in language skills has reduced slightly to 308 from 309 in 2017. Over 43 per cent of the students in this subject have basic knowledge, while 20 per cent of the students have below basic knowledge. In Mathematics the score in NAS-2021 is 253 against 262 in 2017. As per NAS-2021, over 48 per cent of the students in mathematics have basic knowledge, while 27 per cent of the students have below basic knowledge. In Science, 72 of the students have just the basic or below basic knowledge. In the recent survey, the students scored just 250 in science compared to 281 in NAS-2017. In social sciences, the score is 253 compared to 285 in 2017. Just 17 per cent of the total students have proficient or advanced knowledge of the subject.

Similarly, there is a dip in performance in high school (class 10) too. In mathematics, the score now is 218 compared to 247 in 2017. Only 22 per cent of the students now have proficient or advanced knowledge of the subject. In science, the score now is 207 compared to 244 in 2017. Less than 10 per cent of the students have proficient or advanced knowledge of the subject. There is a performance decline of 23 points in social sciences too. Only 14 per cent of the students have proficient or advanced knowledge of social sciences. The only subject in which there is an improvement in English is where students have scored 280 out of 500, compared to 242 in 2017. Over 59 per cent of the students have proficient or advanced knowledge of the language.

Except in class 3, the performance of students in urban areas was better than the students in rural areas. A comparison of performance by social groups shows that the students of the general category have better command in the subjects across all classes and subjects.

The NAS is a national representative survey that provides a system-level reflection on the effectiveness of school education. Total of 2,562 schools, 11,347 teachers, and 65,870 students in Uttarakhand participated in the survey. Out of the total number of students who participated, around 52 per cent were boys. Over 70 per cent of the participation was from rural areas. In terms of participation by social groups, over 52 percent of participation was from general castes, over 23 per cent from SC, and 22 per cent from the OBC.