The National Achievement Survey (NAS) is a national level large-scale assessment conducted to obtain information about the learning achievement of students of Classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 studying in State Govt. schools, Govt. Aided schools, Private Unaided and Central Govt. schools. NAS does not provide scores for individual student/school.

It is a national representative survey that provides a system level reflection on effectiveness of school education. NAS findings help compare the performance across the spectrum and across population which may serve as input to move in the desirable direction and areas for remedial interventions.

NAS is embedded in an extremely rich system of background variables. This survey correlates students performance with contextual variables. NAS is useful for educational planners and policy makers including researchers in understanding the interdependence of assessment, pedagogical process and learning outcomes. 
NAS 2021 focused on competency-based assessment. It was conducted in Language, Mathematics & Environmental Studies for class 3 & 5; Language, Mathematics, Science & Social Science for class 8 and Modern Indian Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and English for class 10.

For effective monitoring and nation-wide coordination, a National Steering Committee was constituted by the Ministry. While the NCERT was entrusted with the task of development of Assessment Framework, the administration of NAS 2021 was entrusted to the CBSE. Grade-wise subject specific Learning Outcomes were identified by the NCERT for development of the items for assessment. Sampling being a crucial aspect of assessment, the NAS 2021 sampling design was intended to support the predefined objectives of the assessment. The sampling note on which the sample has been selected for NAS 2021 is also available on the MoE website. The States, Districts and School level samples were based on UDISE+2019-20 data.

Nearly, 3.4 million students from approximately 1.18 lakh schools were administered the survey. A dedicated Portal (https://nas.education.gov.in) was launched by the NIC with login access for functionaries and role-based functionality for managing resources, activity monitoring, reporting & documentation etc. Extensive training and capacity building was done for the field operatives using short and self-narrative videos in a blended mode. For a hassle-free and fair conduct of NAS, an integrated framework with operational salience was in place. The survey was conducted in a monitored environment.

Around 2 lakh Field Investigators (Fls), 1.24 lakh Observers, 36 State Nodal Officers, 733 District Level Coordinators and District Nodal Officers were engaged. Board Representatives were appointed for ensuring fair conduct of NAS. The pre-mapping of Test and background questionnaire tools using UDISE code, confidentiality at all stages, Just-in-Time delivery of papers in sealed trunks, school-specific packing for transit security, self-learning materials for functionaries in login, 3-tier supervision, machine- based random deployment, documentations in the form of control sheet, field note for FI and observer, district note and update on portal were some of the strategic arrangements that were in place for the smooth administration of NAS. Out of 733 targeted districts, the NAS-2021 was conducted in 720 districts on 12th November 2021 except some districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh due to natural calamity.

This report would help diagnose learning gaps and determine interventions necessary in education policies, teaching practices and learning. The synthesis of the results at the national level would prove to be a rich repository of evidence for developing and designing the future course of action for the Indian education system.