Analysis of Alignment between Single National Curriculum Standards 2022 and Punjab Examination Commission Assessment 2023 in Pakistan
Keywords:
Alignment, Assessment, Single National Curriculum, Sustainable Development Goals, Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Punjab Examination Commission, Depth of Knowledge, Webb Alignment ToolAbstract
Standard-based curriculum enhances quality and coherence of educational outcomes to gauge the alignment between standards and assessment to meet the diverse needs of learners. The Single National Curriculum (SNC) 2022 was developed and implemented to provide quality education aimed at unifying and standardizing education across Pakistan in line with the fourth goal of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current study was descriptive to explore the alignment between curriculum standards and assessment of 8th-grade science. The sources of data were SNC 2022 science grade VI-VIII, a textbook of Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) and Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) assessment test. The Webb Alignment Tool was used to measure the level of alignment on four criteria: categorical concurrence, range of knowledge, Depth of Knowledge (DOK) consistency, and balance of representation. The results of the study revealed that the assessment met the criteria of categorical concurrence whereas depth of knowledge consistency was at an acceptable level. The assessment slightly meets the criteria of balance of representation and range of knowledge even at a minimum acceptable level. Furthermore, there is a less good degree of alignment between SNC 2022 science SLOs and PEC assessment 2023. Furthermore, 84% of assessment items were of DOK level-l and level-2 and only 16% of items of DOK level-3 and level-4 were included.
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