Established in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit focused on improving learning outcomes for school children in India through system-driven reforms. CSF collaborates with 11 state governments to implement statewide Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) programmes. CSF emphasises integrating EdTech for both classroom and home learning, leveraging AI to enhance impact. Additionally, CSF advocates for Early Childhood Education reforms and strengthens School Governance in private and government schools, working to transform India’s education system at scale. 

In India, the government and other organisations conduct various educational assessments, like board exams, school-based assessments, and household surveys. Large-scale assessment efforts to date posed several challenges: they were largely recorded by hand and on paper; turnaround times to receive data were long; and methodologies would change making it difficult to compare outcomes across geographies. These surveys were also costly2 and presented logistical issues such as for printing, scanning, and storage of answer sheets. Limited usage of the assessment data bundled with limited capacity to design and implement assessments have become further reasons for India’s states’ reluctance to undertake large-scale assessments.  

With the launch of the State FLN Programme across CSF’s intervention states, there was a need, however, to conduct system-level assessments for a wide range of purposes. The Programme, needed define a 'baseline', set up targets for student learning outcomes, and undertake reforms on critical inputs such as curricula, teacher mentoring, and Programme monitoring. The aim was to ensure reliable and efficient data to efficiently set targets against the NIPUN goals under the National FLN Mission. In 2022-23, CSF decided to support a large-scale assessment across multiple intervention states, leveraging EGRA3 and EGMA4 methodologies. EGRA/EGMA are oral assessments (administered one-on-one assess to learner) which examine the essential skills underpinning reading and numeracy development. For reading, the skills assessed include letter recognition, phonemic awareness, reading simple words, and listening comprehension. Math skills assessed include number recognition, comparisons, and ordering sets of objects. CSF aimed to use technology to streamline data collection and analysis, and to provide reliable data in an efficient turnaround time. 

After a rigorous evaluation process, Tangerine®, an open-source mobile assessment and coaching tool developed by RTI International, was chosen for its multiple capabilities including offline data collection even in areas with poor or no internet connectivity. Tangerine's flexibility to accommodate multiple languages and, most importantly, its ability to measure timed tasks such as Oral Reading Fluency specific to EGRA as well as its ability to reduce data collection time per child from more than 1.5 hours to just 35 minutes, and to ensure data accuracy and GPS-enabled location tracking, make it a critical asset for large-scale surveys. Moreover, by eliminating the need for paper-based assessments, the tool significantly reduces operational costs, saves resources, and contributes to environmental sustainability, a key consideration for CSF and its stakeholders. The capability to synchronise data quickly has enabled the states to also monitor data continuously to improve the quality of collected data. 

Tangerine has been instrumental in several key areas within the CSF's intervention states: 

Data collection tool for System-led Assessment: Using this platform, over 220,000 students across nine (09) intervention states and 186 districts, have been assessed on FLN competencies. The assessments span 12 Indian regional languages and English, ensuring comprehensive coverage and localised implementation. CSF trained a total of ~20,000 field investigators in collecting data using Tangerine.  

Monitoring and supervision through Classroom Observation using Tangerine: Once critical inputs for student learning, such as access to teaching and learning materials, capacity of teachers and middle managers, were implemented by the state, it also became crucial to observe classroom teaching practices and to monitor the effective use of instructional materials. The insights from these observations are intended to refine teacher training and the design of teaching and learning materials. Tangerine enabled detailed tracking of classroom practices and provided real-time feedback to teachers, helping to align teaching methods with students' learning levels for more effective instruction. Ministry middle managers also use the findings to have focused discussions with the teachers in their monthly cluster meetings. Throughout 2024, approximately 800,000 students in Haryana have been assessed and over 60,000 classroom observations recorded using Tangerine in Assam, Punjab, Telangana, and Bihar. Similarly, nearly 150,000 students have been assessed during multiple rounds of spot assessments in Punjab since the Programme’s launch in 2022. 

Other Surveys: Besides student assessments and classroom observations, CSF uses Tangerine also for educational surveys. These include an   

• EdTech survey in Telangana among 26 educational institutions, assessing EdTech tools, software usage, curriculum integration, and teacher training to guide future resource utilisation.  

• Tracking dropout students in Punjab to help understanding the reasons for dropout and designing interventions to prevent them. A survey on the weight of school bags provided insights into the physical burden on students and helped formulate policies for lighter school bags.  

• Tangerine has also been used to assess early childhood education with Anganwadi students in one of the intervention states. 

The integration of Tangerine has enhanced the overall efficiency of data collection, reduced manual errors, and significantly reduced the time required for data analysis and report generation. In Punjab5 alone, using Tangerine for early grade assessments saved over 195,000 hours of fieldwork, reduced the need for and estimated 3.1 million pieces of paper, thus saving over 300 trees.  

Most importantly, the technology has streamlined the entire process from data collection to dissemination, enabling the states to set clear, data-backed targets for improving foundational literacy and numeracy and thus supported data-driven policy interventions across multiple states​.  

Additional Reads: 

• Principles of Scaling Up - Simple. Support. Sustain

• A presentation at UKFIET, a global biannual event hosted at the University of Oxford /Ed Tech 'in real life.' Making balanced choices to optimise its impact.  

• A blog on the experience of using tech for large-scale assessment in Punjab and other states in India 

• A blog on using tech in classroom observation and monitoring in Telangana state of India. 

For more information, contact:

Dr Parthajeet Das
Director CSF
parthajeet@centralsquarefoundation.org