In the Indian education system, the term evaluation is associated with examination, stress and anxiety. All efforts at curriculum definition and renewal come to a naught if they cannot engage with the bulwark of the evaluation and examination system embedded in schooling. We are concerned about the ill effects that examinations have on efforts to make learning and teaching meaningful and joyous for children.

The purpose of evaluation is certainly not to motivate children to study under threat. One could surmise that the purpose of assessment is necessarily to improve the teaching–learning process and materials, and to be able to review the objectives that have been identified for different school stages by gauging the extent to which the capabilities of learners have been developed.

Needless to say, this does not mean that tests and examinations will have to be conducted frequently. On the contrary, routine exercises and activities can be employed effectively to assess learning.