Meenu Gupta
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, continues to pioneer reforms that place student learning outcomes and systemic improvement at the core of school education. One of the flagship efforts in this direction is the Structured Assessment for Analysing Learning (SAFAL), whose 2024-25 results, released in April 2025, are already reshaping how schools perceive achievement, progress, and teaching practices.
SAFAL, which targets students in Classes 3, 5, and 8, does not follow a conventional pass-fail structure. Instead, it provides schools with rich diagnostic insights on students’ competency levels in Literacy, Numeracy, Environmental Studies, and Science. These insights are based on a rigorous scale-based reporting system, enabling schools to identify not just how much students know, but how well they understand, apply, and reason with that knowledge.
A New Lens to View Learning
The crux of the SAFAL assessment lies in its proficiency scale-divided into four levels: Below Basic (two grades below expected learning outcomes), Basic (one grade below), Proficient (at grade level), and Advanced (above grade level). These levels aren’t just numbers-they narrate the story of how a school’s teaching and learning ecosystem is functioning. For example, if a student is marked as “Advanced” in Class 8 Science, it implies that the student not only meets grade-level expectations but also masters all skills below that level.
What sets the SAFAL 2024-25 report apart is its scalability and comparability. Scaled scores standardize the assessment outcomes, allowing schools to compare performance year-on-year or across regions. A school that participated in the SAFAL Pilot in February 2023 can now directly compare its performance with the latest 2024-25 results and chart its trajectory of improvement.
From Data to Diagnosis to Strategy
Every subject-grade combination in SAFAL is reported through an average scaled score and a proficiency distribution chart. The average score provides a quantitative understanding, comparing the school’s performance with national, state, district, and regional benchmarks. Meanwhile, the proficiency distribution provides a qualitative lens-showing what proportion of students falls into each level. For example, in one illustrative case, a school had 31.56% of its students at the “Proficient” level in Science, significantly outperforming the regional average of 16.52%.
The true strength of SAFAL lies in its Competency Reports, which break each subject into granular learning competencies (like measurement in math or inference in language). Schools can then pinpoint where exactly the gaps lie. Did 60% of Class 5 students struggle with applying scientific reasoning, even though they could recall facts? This level of actionable insight is helping schools across states-from Maharashtra to Assam, from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala-design better interventions, restructure lesson plans, and strengthen remedial education.
Comparing Progress Across Years
For schools that have been part of SAFAL since its pilot phase, this year’s report offers invaluable comparative insights. For instance several schools in a region demonstrated notable improvement in foundational literacy. The percentage of students achieving grade-level proficiency rose in year 2024 when compared to year 2023. Similarly, schools in another state showed a small but impactful improvement in numeracy skills among Class 3 students when compared to last year’s baseline. These shifts may seem small, but in the context of large student populations, they signify major pedagogical improvements.
School-Level Impact and Self-Improvement
Schools are not just receiving these reports-they are acting on them. Many institutions have now integrated SAFAL insights into their School Development Plans (SDPs). Leadership teams and teachers are forming internal quality circles to deep dive into the results. Some schools have even initiated student-level data conversations with parents, helping them understand their child’s progress across competencies rather than just through grades.
CBSE has also empowered schools with a user-friendly online portal that allows them to view subject-wise dashboards and download detailed performance analytics. This democratization of data is one of the most revolutionary aspects of SAFAL. As CBSE Chairperson Nidhi Chhibber had aptly remarked , “SAFAL enables schools to not just assess what is being learned, but also reflect on how teaching itself can evolve. When schools read their own data, they unlock a path toward better teaching and deeper learning.”
The Road Ahead: Building Competency-Centric Ecosystems
The implications of SAFAL extend far beyond assessment. It is shaping a generation of schools that view learning as a layered, developmental process rather than a binary outcome. It’s encouraging schools to focus on foundational competencies early on so that students are not only exam-ready but life-ready.
The roadmap is clear. CBSE envisions SAFAL to become an integral part of a school’s reflection mechanism-a continuous, non-threatening evaluation that informs curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher development. With SAFAL reports already highlighting how a good percentage of students nationwide are at “Basic” or below in higher-order comprehension skills, schools are now rethinking how they teach reading, writing, and reasoning in an integrated manner.
Conclusion
The SAFAL 2024-25 results are not merely a statistical output-they are a mirror. A mirror that helps schools see beyond marks, into mindsets; beyond answers, into understanding. They remind us that the ultimate goal of education is not the transmission of information but the transformation of learners. In this journey, SAFAL is not just an assessment-it is a guide, a catalyst, and above all, a partner in excellence.
(The author is Vice Principal Delhi Public School, Jammu)
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