Why the CBSE’s move towards competency-based assessment has a gap
The CBSE's shift toward competency-based assessment is a positive policy step, but it faces a significant implementation gap in Indian classrooms. While the board has successfully updated assessment frameworks, schools lack the necessary instructional design standards and teacher training to effectively transition from traditional teaching to true experiential learning.
Why it matters
This analysis highlights a critical disconnect in educational reform where policy mandates fail to translate into classroom practice due to a lack of structural support and teacher professional development.
A school principal told me, with genuine pride, that her school does experiential learning. They take students to the beach to clean it. I did not say what I was thinking, but I have not stopped thinking about it. This is not a criticism of that school or the principal. The intent was real. So was the effort. Community engagement has educational value but what was missing was something more specific: the understanding that experiential learning is not an activity. It is a pedagogy. It has structure, sequencing, reflection, and measurable learning outcomes built into its design. A beach visit without that architecture is a good morning out. Whether it qualifies as project-based learning depends entirely on what surrounds it, not on where the bus stops.
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Experiential learning: how students can learn more effectively
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