Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

          Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) refers to a system of school based evaluation of students that covers all aspects of student personality. It is a curricular initiative, attempting to shift emphasis from mere testing to holistic learning. ‘Continuous’ means that the evaluation of identified aspects of students’ growth and development is a continuous process rather than an event. It is built into the total teaching learning process & spread over the entire academic session. ‘Comprehensive’ mean the scheme attempts to cover both the scholastic and the co-scholastic aspects of students’ growth and development. ‘Evaluation’ is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing and reporting of information about students’ knowledge, attitudes, skills, intentions and/or behaviors regarding specific content, issues or experiences.

          Concept of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation is a process of determining the extent to which the objectives are achieved. It is not only concerned with the appraisal of achievement, but also with its improvement. It involves information gathering, information processing, judgment forming, and decision-making. In recent years, there has been a growing concern for improving the quality of achievement of all students at elementary level. In this context the NPE, 1986 recommended that Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL) be laid down at each stage of primary education, and that steps be undertaken to ensure that all students achieve these minimum levels of learning. As a follow-up, the MLL for each subject from classes I to V were stated in terms of competencies. Each competency constitutes an expected performance target that lends itself to criterion testing which is continuous and competency based. It becomes essential for the teachers to adopt a scheme of continuous evaluation that helps in confirming whether or not he learners have mastered the competencies. A competency also becomes a criterion to organize teaching-learning process, and at the same time to assess the students. It is a very well known fact that usually evaluation is done to measure the knowledge and understanding outcomes. The evaluation of skills and higher mental abilities are neglected to a great extent. The evaluation of co-scholastic aspects like attitudes, appreciation, interests, personal and social qualities of students are seldom carried out. The report of MLL and the national curriculum frame work of school education have specified certain personal and social qualities that need to be developed in children. They stress the point that the evaluation should be comprehensive in nature, wherein all learning experiences pertaining to scholastic, co-scholastic and personal and social qualities are assessed. The comprehensive evaluation not only helps in checking all the standards of performance in both scholastic and co-scholastic areas, but also in decision making regarding various aspects of teaching-learning process, promoting the students, increasing quality, efficiency, and accountability. Continuous and comprehensive evaluation necessitates the use of multiple evaluation techniques and tools in addition to certain conventional ones. This is required because different specific areas of pupil growth need different types of evaluation through certain techniques. The teacher has to select the most appropriate technique for a situation and develop the necessary tools for the same and decide upon the periodicity and timing of evaluation.

 Purpose and Functions of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation

 Purpose

• Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation is intended to provide a holistic profile of the learner through assessment of both scholastic and co-scholastic aspects of education spread over the total span of instructional time in schools.
• It helps to identify those positive attributes of the learner which are not usually assessed during the examinations conducted by the Board
• As it is spread over a period of two years in classes IX and X it provides several opportunities for  the  school to identify the latent talents of the learners in different contexts.
• To integrate teaching and evaluation and to test those kills and abilities which cannot be tested through written examinations at the end of the course?
• To encourage students to apply themselves rigorously to their students.
• To enable the teacher to realize the effectiveness of teaching-learning process.
• To serve as a feedback for improving the contents of the courses, methods of teaching and teaching– learning process in general.

Functions

• It helps the teacher to organize effective teaching strategies.
• It helps in regular assessment to the extent and degree of Learner’s progress (ability and achievement with reference to specific Scholastic and Co-Scholastic areas).
• It serves to diagnose weaknesses and permits the teacher to ascertain an individual learner’s strengths and weaknesses and her needs. It provides immediate feedback to the teacher, who can then decide whether a particular unit or concept needs a discussion again in the whole class or whether a few individuals are in need of remedial instruction.
• By continuous evaluation, children can know their strengths and weaknesses. It provides the child a realistic self assessment of how he/she studies. It can motivate children to develop good study habits, to correct errors, and to direct their activities towards the achievement of desired goals. It helps a learner to determine the areas of instruction in where more emphasis is required.
• It identifies areas of aptitude and interest. It helps in identifying changes in attitudes and value systems.
• It helps in making decisions for the future regarding choice of subjects, courses and careers.
• It provides information/reports on the progress of students in Scholastic and Co-Scholastic areas and thus helps in predicting the future success of the learner.

• Merits and Demerits of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation

Merits

Introduction of CCE will have the following advantages:

• It will help the learners to develop holistically in terms of personality, i.e. physically fit, mentally alert and emotionally balanced.
• The students will have more time with them to develop their interests, hobbies and personalities
• Students, parents and teachers would be more logical in making an informed choice about subjects.
• It will equip students with Life Skills, especially creative and critical thinking skills, social skills and coping skills.

Other merits of CCE are as follows:

• More Valid: It is more valid than external examinations as it covers all the topics of the syllabus through assessment on daily as well as periodic basis.
• Regular and Punctual: Students will become regular and punctual. They will try to do their assignments and class work to the satisfaction of all concerned.
• Discipline: The problem of indiscipline will remain subsided.
• More reliable: It is more reliable than external examinations as it covers all the topics of the syllabus.
• Motivational Value: It motivates the pupils to work regularly and thoroughly. They are motivated to work through out the year.
• Diagnostic Value: It enables school authorities to diagnose pupils’ difficulties in learning and provide opportunities to find out needs, interests, abilities and aptitude of the learners.
• No undue strain: Undue strain upon the students is relaxed.
• Positive results: It aims at finding out what the child knows, what s/he can do and what intelligence s/he possess rather than finding out what s/he does not know, what s/he cannot do and what intelligence s/he does not posses.

Demerits

• Time consuming: Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation is time consuming.
• Heavy work load of teachers: The short term evaluation increases the work load of teachers. Moreover, it demands training, efficiency and resourcefulness on the part of the teachers.
• Incomplete without external examination: In the absence of external examination/ a public examination at the end of the year it would be incomplete.
• Shirkers of work: Shirkers of work in the teaching profession may not work and the standards of teaching-learning may go down.

Benefits of CCE to Students and Teachers

Benefits to Students

The scheme of CCE would help the learners, who are the primary stakeholders of school education, in the following manner:

• It will reduce stress and anxiety relating to examinations among the young students, especially among the adolescents.
• It will reduce the dropout rate as there will be less fear and anxiety related to performance.
• There will be greater focus on learning rather than teaching.
• It will enhance learning time of students.
• It will help the learners to develop holistically as a result of the emphasis on the promotion of co-scholastic aspects of the personality.
• It is expected to prepare the students for life by making students physically fit, mentally alert and emotionally balanced.
• The students will have more time with them to develop their interests, hobbies and personalities.
• It will enable the students, parents and teachers to make an informed choice about subjects at different stages of education.
• It will promote learning in a friendly environment.
• It will equip students with Life Skills, especially Creative and Critical thinking skills, social skills and coping skills.

Benefits to Classroom Teacher

The continuous and comprehensive evaluation helps a classroom teacher in the following ways:

• To identify learning difficulties in mastering competencies and the intensity of such difficulties.
• To improve students’ learning through diagnosis of their performance.
• To plan appropriate remedial measures to enable the students who have learning difficulties.
• To improve or alter instructional strategies to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.
• To help in selecting of various tools, techniques and instructional materials as a support system in mastering the competencies.