In the Data Point titled ‘Not up to the mark’ published on Monday, data showed that due to the pandemic, the marks scored by Indian school students in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) examinations dropped significantly across classes. Further analysis shows that the impact was more pronounced among rural students. The mean score of Class X rural students in the Science exam declined by 47 marks in 2021 compared to 2018, whereas for urban students, there was a smaller decline of 38 marks. Similarly, the impact was greater on Schedule Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students compared to the general category.
No gender divide
The graph shows the difference between the mean score in 2021 compared to the score in 2017/2018* across classes and subjects among male and female students. The drop in scores did not vary significantly along gender lines. Hover over the chart to find the exact figure
