The Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has issued revised assessment guidelines for Classes 1 to 8 for the 2026-27 academic year, setting out how schools should evaluate subjects introduced or renamed under the state’s phased curriculum revision.
The guidelines retain the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system for most subjects but prescribe specific assessment requirements for vocational education in Class 6 and art education in Classes 3, 4 and 6. The circular was issued by SCERT director Mangesh Joshi under the state School Education and Sports Department.
The revised curriculum was introduced in Class 1 in 2025-26. For 2026-27, it has been extended to Classes 2, 3, 4 and 6. The new guidelines clarify how assessment should work as schools adopt the revised textbooks and subject structures.
Class 6 vocational education to include three projects
Vocational education has been introduced as a new subject from Class 6. Under the prescribed assessment framework, practical work will carry 75% weightage and written assessment 25%.
Students must complete three projects during the academic year, covering three areas: living-based activities, machine and material-based work, and human-service-based activities. Each term will carry 100 marks.
Assessment will draw on projects, activity books, practical examinations and written tests. Teachers can also use tools such as field visits, surveys, role-play and interviews to assess students’ work.
The circular also specifies that vocational education will follow the 100% formative assessment framework previously prescribed for Work Experience. This means students will be assessed through the learning process rather than solely through a final examination, with practical and written components carrying the prescribed weightage.
Art education to include practical presentations and written tests
For Classes 3, 4 and 6, schools must use at least five of the eight assessment tools prescribed under the existing 2010 government resolution for formative assessment in art education. Practical presentations and written tests are compulsory.
The revised framework covers visual arts, theatre, music, dance and movement. Students will be assessed on practical performance, creativity, their use of materials, confidence and theoretical understanding.
Written tests will examine students’ knowledge of art concepts, colours, materials and folk traditions, alongside the theoretical aspects of the different art forms. The guidelines therefore require schools to assess both practical expression and students’ understanding of the subject.
Existing assessment pattern continues for most subjects
The circular clarifies that the revised curriculum does not automatically change the assessment method for every subject.
Subjects whose names have not changed, as well as those that continue under the old curriculum, will follow the assessment method prescribed in the government resolution dated August 20, 2010. Subjects that have been renamed will also retain their earlier assessment pattern.
For instance, Our Surroundings, Parts 1 and 2, which replaces the earlier Environmental Studies subjects, will continue to follow the existing formative and summative assessment ratio.
In Classes 3 and 4, formative assessment will account for 60% of the marks and summative assessment for 40%. In Class 5, the two components will carry equal weightage, at 50% each.
The subject Work Experience has also been renamed Work Education and will be taught up to Class 5. Its existing assessment pattern, with 100% formative assessment, will continue.
The assessment process for compulsory Marathi in schools that use other mediums of instruction will remain unchanged.
Class 5 and 8 examinations remain unchanged
The annual examinations, supplementary examinations and assessment procedures for Classes 5 and 8 will continue under the provisions of the state government resolution dated December 7, 2023.
The revised SCERT guidelines do not introduce a new examination structure for these classes. Instead, they clarify which existing rules apply while the new curriculum is introduced in phases.
Holistic Progress Card implementation remains limited
The Holistic Progress Card (HPC), which forms part of the continuous and comprehensive evaluation framework, is currently being implemented on a pilot basis in selected schools.
Those schools must continue to follow the existing assessment procedures. SCERT has said separate instructions will be issued later on the wider implementation of the HPC across the state.
The guidelines apply to the 2026-27 academic year and are intended to clarify assessment requirements as the state rolls out its revised curriculum. While vocational and art education have specific requirements, the existing framework remains in place for most other subjects.
