Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked all its affiliated schools to support the upcoming Foundational Learning Study (FLS) 2026, a nationwide assessment to test the foundational literacy and numeracy skills of students who have passed Grade 3.
In an official communication earlier this year, the central education board has said that the assessment will be carried out towards the end of March 2026, with PARAKH, the National Assessment Centre under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conducting the exercise.
The assessment will aim to understand how well students across the country are achieving basic learning outcomes in the early years of schooling.
The results of the assessment will provide policymakers with data to strengthen foundational learning programmes and improve planning for education.
The Foundational Learning Study 2026 is a large-scale national assessment of the competencies in basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills of Grade 3 students.
These foundational skills are the building blocks of all future learning and are vital for long-term success. The test will determine whether students have acquired the necessary Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) skills by the end of the early years of schooling.
The data will be reported at State and Union Territory levels. This will help education authorities assess learning gaps and compare learning across areas. Departments think that the information would help authorities target interventions to improve learning in early education.
CBSE has sent a letter to all its affiliated schools to facilitate smooth execution of the assessment. Schools selected for the study will be operating on the dates of the assessment.
The board has also requested school authorities to facilitate the teams conducting the assessment by allowing them full access to the students, ensuring that the testing is facilitated and the assessment is conducted without any disruptions.
The directive from the board is to ensure that the exercise across the country runs smoothly and that it captures an accurate picture of the levels of learning achieved by the students.
A big change in the Foundational Learning Study 2026 is the way the testing will be done. The previous assessments, including the one in 2022, used a pen-and-paper test, which was later marked on Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.
The new one will be carried out entirely on tablets. The shift to devices will, according to the officials, improve both speed and accuracy of data collection. It will also streamline and provide reliability to the marking system.
The Foundational Learning Study 2026 will be a massive exercise. The assessment will cover more than 10 thousand schools and more than one lakh students across the country.
A total of 776 districts from 36 States and Union Territories will be participating in this exercise. The schools selected for the exercise will comprise both central and state government institutions, private schools as well as government-aided schools.
The schools have been selected by a scientific sampling process. This ensures that the data collected will represent a balanced picture of foundational learning levels all over the country.
The implementation of the Foundational Learning Study will be a multi-institutional effort at various levels of administration. The guidance and oversight of the assessment framework will be by PARAKH under NCERT at the national level. At the state and district levels, various education bodies will support the implementation process.
These include Samagra Shiksha, State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), State Institutes of Education (SIEs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), and district education offices.
Together, the authorities will be able to carry out the assessment smoothly and ensure the collection of reliable learning data at the national level.
Also Read: NTA NCET 2026 Form Correction Begins at exams.nta.ac.in/NCET Check How to Make Corrections Here
Radhika is a journalist with two years of experience covering education, competitive exams, and student-focused developments. She reports on exam notifications, results, admissions, scholarships, and academic policies, helping students stay updated with important information.
Known for her clear and reader-friendly writing, she simplifies complex education updates into accessible stories that guide aspirants, students, and parents. She is also interested in highlighting inspiring student journeys and grassroots education initiatives.
For queries or story tips, you can reach out to her on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/Hitkariradz
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