PANJIM: Goan students continue to disappoint in mathematics, but their performance in language, science and social studies, when compared to the national average, stands out. These are the findings of the national achievement survey (NAS) 2015 by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The survey, carried out as a part of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) on selective students of Classes III, V and VIII in government and government-aided schools, attempted to gauge improvement in learning outcomes by assessing their knowledge and abilities in studies.
As per the results, there is a significant increase in the State average for three subjects – reading comprehension, science and social science – where scores were recorded at 258, 265 and 254 compared to the national averages of 247, 251 and 247, respectively out of total score of 500.
However, Goan students scored 239 in mathematics marginally lower than national average 245. In the 2014 survey, the State average for mathematics was calculated at 248, again lower than the national average score of 252.
In gender-wise performance of students, girls have outperformed boys in all four subjects. Records indicate that boys scored 253 in reading comprehension, 238 in mathematics, 262 in science and 249 in social science while the girls performed better with 263, 240, 269 and 258 in each of the respective subjects. In addition, their performance has been impressive except for mathematics where their score dipped to below the national average – 246 for boys and 245 for girls.
Similarly, students in rural and urban areas have scored higher than the national average but the rural students failed to make a mark in mathematics.
