The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced its School Academic Performance Report Card 2024–25, marking a significant step toward data-driven education. For the first time, every CBSE-affiliated school will receive a detailed breakdown of academic and holistic performance metrics.
This initiative, aimed at improving education quality, evaluates schools beyond exam marks, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Each report card analyses Class 10 and Class 12 results, subject-wise outcomes, gender-based performance, and participation in sports and co-curricular activities.
What the CBSE Report Card Covers?
The report cards offer a comprehensive analysis of schools’ performance, including:
- Subject-level results compared to state and national averages
- Gender performance trends highlighting equity in learning
- Participation in extracurricular activities promoting holistic assessment
- Benchmarking data to help schools identify gaps and improve learning outcomes
This data-driven approach aims to replace assumptions with evidence. Schools can now design targeted academic interventions based on measurable insights rather than intuition.
Benefits: A Step Toward Accountability and Growth
Education experts have welcomed the move, calling it a progressive reform that promotes transparency and evidence-based decision-making.
1. Institutional accountability: Benchmarking against national averages ensures schools measure success beyond subjective claims.2. Data-based improvement: Insights help educators plan interventions, identify weak subjects, and refine teaching strategies.3. Gender equity monitoring: Analysis of gender-wise learning outcomes encourages inclusive education.4. Alignment with NEP 2020: The initiative supports NEP’s emphasis on continuous assessment and competency-based education.5. Recognition of holistic development: Schools’ achievements in sports and co-curricular fields are also evaluated, broadening the definition of success.
The Transparency Concern: Limited Access Raises Questions
However, the report cards are accessible only to schools through confidential login credentials. Parents and the public do not have access to these performance insights.
This confidentiality has sparked criticism from parent groups who argue that withholding school data undermines accountability. Many believe transparency is crucial for making informed decisions about their children’s education.
Education analysts also warn of a “transparency deficit”, suggesting that limited access could lead to selective introspection. Without public scrutiny, some schools may ignore areas requiring improvement.
Experts Call for Balance
Policy experts suggest that the CBSE should consider releasing aggregated or anonymised performance data at district or state levels. Such a move could maintain confidentiality while enabling public benchmarking and system-wide analysis.
They argue that transparency builds trust, and sharing broad insights would help communities track educational progress and resource distribution more effectively.
The CBSE’s new report card system is being viewed as a transformative initiative with the potential to redefine school evaluation in India. Yet, its success will depend on how effectively the system balances introspection with accountability.
