Final Assessment 1 Changes This Year: Complete Guide for Kerala Schools

Kerala’s school examination system is undergoing a major revamp this academic year. The traditional First Term, Half-Yearly, and Annual Examinations are now brought under a unified title — Internal Assessment Level-1.

This change is more than just a name update. It represents a shift towards continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE), where a student’s academic journey is measured through a mix of written tests, classroom activities, and skill-based learning outcomes.

The reform aims to reduce exam stress, promote balanced learning, and make assessments more student-friendly. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what’s new and how it will affect each school level.

Lower Primary (LP) Section

• Five 5-mark questions will be given for each subject.
• Special exam will be conducted for Mathematics.
• Grades from A to E will be awarded in the evaluation.
• Five activities will be provided in total, and the student can choose any two of them.

Upper Primary (UP) Section 

• The questions will be designed to accurately assess the student’s learning objectives and processes.
• Instead of focusing on memory recall, the questions will evaluate thinking processes and skills.
• A single question may assess multiple skills.
• In the “Read and Write” activity, there will be four one-mark questions covering comprehension, analytical, objective, and higher-order skills.
• Moving away from the usual pattern of answering five out of six activities, students will now have to answer all six

High School Section 

High school students (Classes 8 to 10) will continue to have written examinations, but with better-structured papers and fairer evaluation methods.

Key Changes:

• 30% of the questions will be easy, 50% will be of average difficulty, and 20% will be of higher level.
• The exam will include multiple-choice, objective, and short-answer questions that focus on enhancing the student’s thinking, analysis, and evaluation skills.

Why the Change?

Education experts believe that the traditional exam model in Kerala was too focused on memorisation and put unnecessary stress on students. By introducing Internal Assessment Level-1, the Kerala education department hopes to:

• Shift focus from marks to mastery of concepts.
• Encourage creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.
• Give equal weight to academics and extracurricular activities.
• Promote continuous learning instead of “study only before exams” habits.

How Parents and Students Can Prepare for the New System

• Encourage daily learning instead of last-minute cramming.
• Support activity participation – every project, drawing, or presentation counts.
• Track progress regularly using teacher feedback.
• Build communication and soft skills – oral tests and group work are part of the evaluation now.

This year’s Final Assessment 1 is more holistic, more balanced, and more student-centered. With the introduction of Internal Assessment Level-1, Kerala schools are moving towards a modern evaluation system that values both knowledge and skills.

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