Teachers demand analytical report of PAT examinations

Mumbai's school department will conduct the Progressive Assessment Test for classes 3-8 from Oct 10-13, amid concerns over exam management and analysis.

Mumbai: The school education department has announced that the Progressive Assessment Test (PAT-2) for students from classes 3 to 8 will take place between October 10-13 across all government and private aided schools in the state. The three subjects in the examination will be Marathi, English, and mathematics.

Teachers demand analytical report of PAT examinations

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has instructed schools to treat the PAT-2 as the midterm examinations. The schools need not conduct separate midterm exams for these subjects and must record the PAT-2 marks in the students’ academic files. According to the director’s letter, PAT-2 will include both written and oral components. The written exam will carry 30 marks for classes 3 and 4, 40 for classes 5 and 6, and 50 for classes 7 and 8.

However, school principals and teachers have raised concerns about the way the exams are being managed. They have pointed out that question paper leaks in 2023 and 2024 have raised doubts about the confidentiality of the process. Schools also reported receiving fewer copies of question papers than required, forcing teachers to arrange last-minute photocopies for students.

Teachers are also concerned about the lack of analytical feedback. Several principals have said that once the student’s PAT scores are uploaded on the government portal, there is no follow up with any reports or analysis. “The purpose of PAT is to understand the basic educational levels of students,” said Mahendra Ganpule, former spokesperson of the State Principals’ Association. “But in many schools, teachers prompt answers to students just to show better results. The department must keep a strict watch and also provide analytical reports to help schools improve learning outcomes,” Ganpule added.

Ganpule said the exam can only serve its true purpose if the government analyses the uploaded data and provides schools with solutions to improve students’ performance. “Without this,” he argued, “the test becomes a routine exercise rather than a meaningful educational tool.”