Srinagar, Oct 31 (JKNS): EduWeave Foundation, in collaboration with the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir (DSEK), successfully conducted a two-day Consultation on the Review and Finalization of Baseline Assessment Tools under the District Transformation Project Srinagar on 25th and 28th October 2025 at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kothibagh, Srinagar.
The consultation brought together key officials, including Mr. Kishore Lal (Joint Director, South & Secondary Education), DSEK, and Dr. Mudassir Gul (OSD Cultural & Education Wing), DSEK, along with subject experts in English, Urdu, and Mathematics from the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), and the School Education Department (SED), as well as representatives from the EduWeave Foundation.
The broad participation ensured a rich exchange of perspectives from both academic and field-level practitioners, strengthening the overall quality and contextual relevance of the exercise.
The intensive two-day consultation focused on reviewing, refining, and finalizing Baseline Assessment Tools for Grades 3 and 5, designed to measure students’ Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) competencies.
These tools form a core component of the District Transformation Project Srinagar and aim to establish a district-wide learning baseline that will guide data-driven planning and targeted interventions across schools. The process emphasized ensuring that each tool meets the highest standards of academic rigor, contextual alignment, and adherence to the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and grade-specific learning competencies.
The sessions included detailed reviews of tool design, structure, and question formats.
Participants worked in subject-specific groups to assess the clarity, developmental appropriateness, and linguistic relevance of each assessment item. Feedback was also provided on scoring rubrics to improve consistency, fairness, and practical usability during school-level administration.
The exercise enabled meaningful professional dialogue among teachers, experts, and officials, resulting in tools that are pedagogically sound and feasible to implement across diverse classroom contexts.
Mr. Kishore Lal (Joint Director, South & Secondary Education), DSEK, highlighted that this initiative marks a major stride toward institutionalizing data-driven planning and evidence-based decision-making within the education system.
He emphasized that reliable and validated assessment tools are crucial for identifying learning gaps, strengthening teaching practices, and improving student learning outcomes across schools.
Ms. Amita Kaushik (Director, EduWeave Foundation) commended the collaborative spirit of the consultation, noting that the active participation of officials from DSEK and subject experts from SCERT, DIET, and SED has strengthened both the technical quality and classroom usability of the tools, ensuring their suitability for diverse educational contexts.
She further added that such participatory processes are key to building system ownership and sustaining long-term improvements in learning outcomes.
The consultation concluded with the finalization of the Baseline Assessment Tools across all three subjects and a comprehensive plan for pilot testing in selected schools in November 2025.
The validated tools will form the foundation for establishing a district-wide learning baseline and guiding strategic interventions under the District Transformation Project Srinagar.
This initiative represents a significant milestone in Srinagar’s education reform journey, reaffirming the joint commitment of DSEK and the EduWeave Foundation to advancing quality education, accountability, and measurable learning improvement across government schools.
