Will My Child Get a Holistic Progress Card? What CBSE and NCERT Say

If your child's school has mentioned a Holistic Progress Card, or your child's report card suddenly looks different, you may be wondering: is this compulsory, and what is it actually measuring? This post sticks to what CBSE and NCERT's PARAKH have published, and says where the documents are silent.

Is the Holistic Progress Card compulsory?

In the official material we read, the HPC is recommended, not required. CBSE's HPC Teacher Guide says the National Education Policy 2020 (paragraph 4.35) and the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (paragraph 6.4.3) recommend it, and that the school can adopt or adapt the HPC. We did not find a CBSE or NCERT notice that makes it compulsory for every school. Whether your school uses it is the school's decision, so ask.

Who has published the card?

PARAKH, the assessment body under NCERT, has published HPC formats for four stages of school: Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary. CBSE's own progress note on NEP implementation says the Foundational Stage card was released on 28 December 2023 and that the Preparatory Stage card has been adapted for CBSE schools.

PARAKH now also runs a Digital HPC at hpc.parakh.ncert.gov.in. Its home page says the Digital HPC is live, with separate logins for Student or Parent, School or Teacher, State or District Admin and PARAKH Admin. CBSE's IT page also lists an HPC portal. We did not find public information on which boards or states use it, so do not assume your school does.

What is on the card?

The Foundational Stage card (early years to about age 8) groups a child's progress under six headings:

The Middle Stage card goes further. Alongside the teacher's view it has sections where the child assesses themselves, a peer comments, and a parent and teacher record it together. It also lists strengths such as following instructions, collaboration, independent work, communication, creativity and solution-focused thinking, and barriers such as lack of motivation or attention.

What to ask your child's school

• Does the school use the HPC for my child's class this year, or its own report format?
• Is it the PARAKH format as published, or an adapted version?
• Will I see the card on paper, on the Digital HPC, or both?
• When does the parent-teacher section get filled in, and what should I bring?
• How are marks and the HPC related? Does the HPC replace the marks report or sit beside it?

What is not clear yet

The documents we read do not say how many schools use the card, whether a board will require a particular version, or whether the Digital HPC will become the only route. If a circular changes this, we will update the post.