The survey was conducted in November 2021 with a sample size of 34 lakh students in classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 with the objective of evaluating children’s progress and learning competencies. The survey has recorded a dip in performances across subjects and grades nationally from the last achievement survey conducted in 2017, pointing to the impact of the pandemic-induced disruptions in teaching and learning. Delhi is no exception at the primary level.

In the 2017 survey, the state average score in percentage for class 3 students was 54 per cent, which in 2021, dipped to 47 per cent. This is also 10 percentage points behind the national average score for the subject at this level, which is 57 per cent. Similarly, the average state score for class 3 in language also slipped from 58 per cent to 52 per cent, also 10 percentage points behind the national average score of 62. In fact, Delhi features in the five states with the lowest average score in both Math and Language at this level.

There is a similar dip at the class 5 level as well, with a fall from 44 per cent to 38 per cent in Math and from 49 per cent to 44 per cent in EVS. The state average score for language has remained the same at 52, which is a little below the national average score of 55.

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But at the class 8 level, Delhi has exhibited a reversal to the national trend of a dip in performances between 2017 to 2019. While the national average score has shown a dip in performances in all four subjects—Language, Science, Math and Social Science—Delhi has registered an improvement in all. In Math, this improvement is from 32 to 35; in Language, from 55 to 58; in Science, from 34 to 42; and in Social Science, from 36 to 39. Delhi is also slightly ahead of the national average score in Science and Language at this level and at par with it in Math and Social Science.

It is similarly ahead in all subjects at class 10 level, for which a pre-pandemic comparison cannot be made since the 2017 survey did not include this grade. However, particularly in the case of math, it can be seen that performances slide as one as grades increase. In class 3, the state average math performance is 47; it is 38 in class 5; 36 in class 8; and 35 in class 10.

The survey in Delhi was conducted among 64,049 students in 1,602 schools, of whom 51.7 per cent were boys and 48.3 per cent girls. Of these, 37 per cent of the students were from Delhi government schools, 36 per cent from private schools, 17 per cent from government-aided schools and 10 per cent from central government schools.

It has also been noted that up till the class 8 level, the performances from state government schools in Delhi is considerably behind the national average of state government-run schools for all subjects. For instance, in class 3, the national average of state government school students in math is 58, while in Delhi it is 40. In the same subject in class 8, the national average from state government schools is 36 while in Delhi it is 30.

Punjab was the best performer across all grades and subjects, leading to BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa taking a swipe at the AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab. “I request @BhagwantMann ji to go through the report and compare Delhi and Punjab score. On each and every page, on every parameter and in every subject; Punjab is ahead of Delhi. In fact: Delhi is worse than national average and in bottom 5 states in many aspects. Would you still implement Delhi model of education in Punjab?” he wrote on Twitter.