Teachers Criticize Lesson-Based Assessment for Adding ‘Unnecessary Pressure

Fast Summary

• Lesson Based Assessment (LBA): Implemented by the Department of School Education adn Literacy (DSEL) in Karnataka starting from the academic year 2025-26 for government, aided, and unaided schools.
• Objective: Aims to improve student learning, reduce reliance on traditional tests, continuously monitor progress, integrate daily learning processes into assessment frameworks, and involve parents in tracking their child’s progress.
• Implementation: Mandatory for grades 4 to 10 in kannada medium schools and grades 1 to 10 in bilingual classes. Unit tests are conducted for every lesson with marks entered into the Student achievement Tracking System (SATS).
• Challenges: Teachers report server issues while updating lesson plans and marks online via SATS. High volume workload due to mandatory evaluations-for instance, evaluating thousands of answer sheets within tight deadlines has added pressure.
• Private Schools’ Concerns: technical issues arise as private school teachers face login ID challenges. associated Managements of English Medium Schools requested option systems like Excel updates rather of using SATS.
• Adjustments Made: Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra announced reduction of marks per unit test from 25 to 15 as a step toward resolving technical issues.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The introduction of LBA reflects DSEL’s intent to transform assessments by fostering inclusive learning approaches aligned with continuous evaluation rather than exam-centric models. While its objectives reinforce educational equity and transparency by engaging parents and focusing on individual student outcomes, implementation hurdles raise concerns about resource efficiency.

Technical bottlenecks such as unreliable server performance on SATS platforms have emerged as critical obstacles across government-aided institutions.Additionally, large-scale documentation requirements impose significant administrative burdens on educators already managing extra responsibilities like midday meals or census duties.for private institutions not fully equipped to manage the demands set forth under LBA regulations due to inadequate access structures (e.g., login credentials), adopting simpler technological solutions like Excel-based entry coudl alleviate strain without compromising data integrity.

While recent adjustments signal responsiveness from authorities toward reducing workloads (e.g., lowering test mark allocations), enduring long-term solutions-perhaps involving investments in infrastructure or teacher support systems-will be essential for prosperous integration at scale.

Read more