NCERT Test To Help Students Zero in on the Best Career Options

Deciding a career path is one of the most difficult things that teachers and to some extent every parent oftentimes struggle with. The reason being, finding the inherent traits, likings and penchant of a kid is important but not easy. And, as most of us believe that without knowing the potential, inherent abilities, traits and likings of students, asking them to select a popular course is like keeping them away from the success that other field (read the field of a student’s liking) might otherwise have offered. Accordingly, to reduce the onus and responsibility of parents as well as teachers to guide their students on the right career path, National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) comes up with the solution.

NCERT has developed a test to help parents, teachers and students to zero in on the streams for higher studies that suit them the best. NCERT’s department of psychology and the foundation of education are in the process to finalize the conditions for the test that candidates will be taking after class 9th. NCERT is already conducting trail runs at regional institutes and the test is expected to be available soon. NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapaty has also confirmed the news. However, he reiterated that let’s not call it a test as tests put an extra burden on students. It will be conducted just to judge students’ aptitude. For example, some students with problem-solving abilities can perform better in mathematics but that surely does not mean they won’t do good in English.

The point here and the reason behind the inclusion of the test is to find between a stream/subject where a student can do exceptionally well and where they will do just good. The test or rather the exercise is all about helping students discover the techniques that they already have but didn’t exercise them ever the way they should have. Additionally, the test aims to check the perceptive ability and mechanical reasoning of students. The test will be divided into verbal and non-verbal sections and is to consist of seven sub tests. Other than testing the non-verbal, verbal, abstract, mechanical, spatial and perceptive rational, the test will also use figures and diagrams to assess the reasoning abilities of students. The test is also expected to be made available at the individual level too but at the later stage.

Currently, the test module is undergoing testing at the regional institutes of NCERT including Kendriya Vidyalayas and the discussions have already been done with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to ensure it is implemented in the affiliated schools too. The test will run for 1:30 hours. Though the test is pen and paper based as of now, it is expected to be conceptualized and available in an online mode in the time to come. NCERT has options open and will welcome if other states of India want to use the test.