For decades, India's higher education system has worshipped one idol: the three-hour, end-semester written exam. Whether a student studies engineering in Pune, law in Bengaluru, or commerce in a college in Bihar, their academic identity has been reduced to one moment, one paper, one high-stakes judgment. This system, a remnant of colonial-era academic design, has survived every policy shift and reform on paper, until the pandemic exposed its limits. When campuses shut and invigilation collapsed, universities realized that they had online classes, but no online learning; syllabi, but no meaningful way to measure whether learning had actually occurred. The confusion that followed - hurried online quizzes, makeshift viva voces, digital assignments - was chaotic, but hidden within that chaos was the beginning of a quiet academic revolution. Faculty across India began to experiment, rethink, redesign. The disruption revealed something obvious yet long ignored: if India truly wants 21st-century graduates, it must move beyond exam-centric judgment and embrace multi-assessment.
From One-shot Judgment to a Culture of Learning
Multi-assessment is not only a technical reform but a philosophical one. It asks universities not to measure their students once and for all, through one mode, for ranking alone, but continuously, through many modes, for real learning. At its very core lies a transformation from assessment of learning to assessment for learning and finally to assessment as learning—where students take responsibility for understanding rubrics, evaluating their own and peers' work, and thinking critically about their progress. In a country where a large number of its students are first-generation learners, this shift is not a choice but an imperative for equity.
The Three Pillars: Diagnose, Develop, Demonstrate
The three stages of a strong multi-assessment framework are formative, summative, and diagnostic. Teachers can better understand students' baseline knowledge by using diagnostic tests at the start of the semester. These preliminary assignments—brief tests, writing samples, and case reflections—don't result in grades, but they do help teachers know where to start. Throughout the semester, formative assessments turn learning into a continuous dialogue. Iterative submissions in media courses, critiques in architecture studios, weekly case-based quizzes in medicine, and fortnightly briefs in law all serve to lower anxiety levels and create an ongoing cycle of effort, feedback, and progress. Last but not least, summative evaluations have moved from memory-based tests to real-world assignments such as design prototypes, multi-platform campaigns in media education, teaching portfolios in B.Ed. programs, MSME consulting assignments in MBA programs, and capstone engineering projects.
The Assessment Types: Powerful, Imperfect, Necessary
Today, Indian universities use a sophisticated mix of performance tasks, portfolio assessments, inquiry-based projects, collaborative assignments, peer reviews, and reflective journals. Each method has strengths and weaknesses: performance assessments are authentic but time-consuming, portfolios reveal growth but require clear rubrics, and inquiry-based work builds critical thinking but demands strong mentorship. The idea is not to do it all but to choose assessments that genuinely align with learning outcomes.
India Is Already Moving—Quietly, Firmly
Contrary to the belief that the assessment landscape in India is stagnating, several institutions have already begun reimagining evaluation structures.
- Mumbai University has reopened the door to internal assessment through a 60:40 structure.
- Delhi University's UGCF 2022 follows 25% internal assessment with transparent digital upload.
- Continuous evaluation in humanities has long been practised in JNU.
Professional programs are even further:
- Medical colleges piloting vOSCEs
- Engineering Institutions using Project-based learning under NBA
- Law schools mainstreaming clinics and moots
- Design and media schools dependent on portfolios and exhibitions
These reforms prove one important thing: multi-assessment works across disciplines, from hard sciences to the most reflective humanities.
The Age of Generative AI
It is time to reinvent assessment in light of considerations related to equity, technology, and AI realities as India deepens into the digital era. Multi-assessment can narrow gaps in learning if universities diversify modes, reward improvement, and make expectations transparent. But no academic reform is equitable when it assumes stable internet access or device availability. At all times, tech-enhanced assessments must be complemented by low-bandwidth alternatives if rural and low-income students are not to be excluded.
Meanwhile, a pressing challenge has been posed by the rapid rise of generative AI: memory-based exams are increasingly vulnerable to AI assistance; authentic assessments-demonstrations, field studies, reflective journals, design prototypes, live debates, OSCEs-remain far more resilient and far more aligned with real-world competence. Reform Requires Courage, Not Just Policy This transformation in assessment requires more than policy-it requires institutional courage. Universities should start with simple steps: adopting an assessment policy in line with NEP 2020; investing in faculty development for rubric-based evaluation; using technology thoughtfully; reducing the burden of student workload; and clearly building connections between assessment, employability and quality assurance. It is not a question of piling on the number of assessments, but enhancing relevance and equity.
The Future: A Mosaic of Mastery
India needs graduates who can think critically, collaborate effectively, research independently, design creatively, diagnose accurately, argue logically, and innovate consistently. No three-hour examination can measure this. A mosaic of thoughtful assessments can. The movement towards multi-assessment is not a bureaucratic adjustment but a moral, academic, and economic necessity. It honours diverse talents, strengthens learning, and prepares graduates for a future where memory is cheap, but mastery is invaluable. The question for today is no longer why multi-assessment-but whether Indian universities will have the courage to adopt it widely, systematically, and now.
