NAS 2021: Punjab, Rajasthan top performers across school levels, subjects

NEW DELHI: Punjab and Rajasthan have emerged as the top performers among states in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report released by the education ministry on Wednesday.

Both states have consistently featured in the top performing states with the highest mean score for subjects across Classes 3,5,8 and 10. Mean scores are average of the total marks that all students got in the particular subject.

Among low-performing states – that is, with the lowest mean scores in subjects – Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have all recorded low scores across subjects and school levels.

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The NAS 2021 report also showed that the learning performance of students dropped as they progressed to higher classes.

NAS assesses the health of the school education system in the country by conducting an evaluation of children’s learning competencies at Classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 with a cycle period of three years. The last NAS was held in 2017.

The survey was conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the union government's top advisor on curriculum, in 22 languages. Children were tested on language, mathematics and EVS for Class 3 and 5; language, mathematics, science and social science for Class 8 and language, mathematics, science, social science and English for Class 10.

NAS 2021 Highlights: Covid, online learning

According to the survey, 78 percent of sampled students found learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic “burdensome” and 80 percent of students said that they learn better in school with peers' help

Around 24 percent of sampled students had no digital devices at home.

Also, 64 percent of teachers surveyed said that they are “overloaded” with work and 44 percent teachers said that they don’t have adequate work space.

The report also showed that the performance of students declined as they progressed to higher classes. For instance, in mathematics, the average percentage of marks scored by students were 57 percent in Class 3. It dropped to 44 percent in Class 5, 36 percent in Class 8 and 32 percent in Class 10.

NAS 2021 Result: Maths, language in Class 3

Punjab, Kerala and Rajasthan recorded the highest mean scores in language in Class 3. Also, Punjab’s mean score was considerably higher than that of other states. Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively recorded the lowest mean scores.

Class 3: Highest in language

Class 3: Lowest in language

In mathematics for Class 3, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra were the top three performing states according to the mean score. Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal made up the top five. Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana and Meghalaya, respectively, recorded the lowest mean score.

Class 3: Highest in mathematics

Class 3: Lowest in mathematics

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NAS 2021: Punjab tops in Class 5

Punjab and Rajasthan continued to have the highest scores among states in language for Class 5.

Class 5: Highest in language

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh recorded the lowest.

Class 5: Lowest in language

The trend held for mathematics in Class 5.

Class 5: Highest in mathematics

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Meghalaya and Telangana performed the worst.

Class 5: Lowest in mathematics

NAS 2021: Punjab, Rajasthan have fared well in the survey conducted by the education ministry

NAS 2021: Class 8 maths, language

Punjab, at the top, is joined by Haryana and Goa as the states with the highest mean score in language in Class 8.

Class 8: Highest in language

Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu performed the worst.

Class 8: Lowest in language

In mathematics for Class 8, Punjab and Rajasthan retain their top positions with a mean score of 297 and 286 respectively. Punjab’s score, again, is considerably higher than the rest of the states.

Class 8: Highest in mathematics

Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest mean scores. However, by this point, 21 out of 36 states and union territories are performing below the national average in mathematics.

Class 8: Lowest in mathematics

In science for Class 8, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir are the top performers. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh scored the lowest.

In social science for Class 8, Punjab tied with Rajasthan for the highest mean score, both getting 288 out of 500. Meghalaya, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh had the lowest.

NAS 2021 report: State performance in Class 10

In modern Indian languages for Class 10, Punjab recorded the highest mean score with 288 out of 500. Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Kerala also performed well. Meghalaya and Nagaland recorded the lowest score with each getting only 212.

Class 10: Highest in Indian languages

Class 10: Lowest in Indian languages

In mathematics for Class 10, Sikkim recorded the lowest score with 195 out of 500. Meghalaya (198) was the only other state with a mean score below 200. Punjab again topped the charts with a fairly healthy lead over other states in the mean score for mathematics.

Class 10: Highest in mathematics

Class 10: Lowest in mathematics

In science for Class 10, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu all recorded a mean score below 200.

In social science for Class 10, Punjab recorded the highest mean score with 270 while Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest mean score with 214.

In English for Class 10, Goa emerged as the top performer recording a mean score of 338. Goa was followed by Punjab and Delhi, while Nagaland and Manipur also recorded good scores. Uttar Pradesh recorded the lowest mean score with 253.

Class 10: Highest in English

Class 10: Lowest in English