How can a school produce the Holistic Progress Card without extra paperwork?
Capture HPC inputs as a by-product of daily work (attendance, activities, assessments, parent and student reflections), let AI draft the remarks, have teachers approve them, and take level names from the official PARAKH template for your stage.
Last reviewed: Published: 9 min read
Quick answer: the Holistic Progress Card (HPC) is a multi-source, competency-based report that replaces a marks-only report card. PARAKH formats exist for each school stage and gather input from the teacher, the student (self-assessment), peers and parents. It is not uniformly mandated by CBSE in our research notes (a reported position as of Oct 2026), so check your board circulars and state instructions. The practical approach is to avoid a separate HPC data-entry project: record the evidence during normal teaching, let a tool assemble it per student, use AI only to draft remarks that a teacher approves, and take the level names from the official PARAKH template, because sources disagree on them.
What is the Holistic Progress Card?
A traditional report card shows marks per subject. The HPC describes a child's growth across academic subjects, skills, values, health and participation, using competencies and descriptors rather than only numbers. It is built from several viewpoints at once: the teacher, the student (self-assessment), peers and the parent. PARAKH, the national assessment centre, publishes formats by stage, with different design for the foundational, preparatory, middle and secondary stages.
Is the HPC mandatory?
Our research notes place the HPC as a PARAKH-format card that is not uniformly mandated by CBSE; adoption varies by board, state and school. Treat it as a direction of travel and confirm with your board, your state education department and your affiliation circulars before you commit. If you are a state-board school, your state may issue its own format. Do not market the HPC as a compliance requirement unless a circular for your board says so.
What are the HPC level names?
This is a point where sources disagree, so do not hard-code it. Some sources describe three levels as "Beginner, Proficient, Advanced" with, at the foundational stage, the names "Stream, Mountain, Sky". Others use "Beginner, Progressing, Proficient". The safest approach is to read the official PARAKH template for each stage and store the level names as configuration that can be changed without redoing student records.
| Source description | Level names reported | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Description A | Beginner, Proficient, Advanced (Stream, Mountain, Sky at the foundational stage) | Compare with the PARAKH template for your stage |
| Description B | Beginner, Progressing, Proficient | Compare with the PARAKH template for your stage |
| Your school | Whatever the template for your board and stage says | Store names in configuration and print from it |
Who fills which part of the card?
| Contributor | What they provide | Easiest way to collect it |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher | Observations on competencies, activity participation, subject remarks, evidence | Quick tap entries during the week; AI turns notes into a draft that the teacher edits and approves |
| Student | Self-assessment, interests, goals, reflections | A short form in class or at home, in Hindi or English, using simple prompts |
| Peers | Peer feedback on teamwork and participation | A structured class activity once a term |
| Parent | Home observations, questions, support at home | A link sent on WhatsApp with a three-question form |
| School | Attendance, co-curricular records, health data, assessment marks | Pulled automatically from existing modules |
How do you avoid extra paperwork?
- Reuse data you already have. Attendance, test marks, project grades, sports and club participation already exist. The HPC should read them, not ask for them again.
- Capture evidence in the moment. A teacher who snaps a photo of a project and taps a competency tag in 15 seconds beats a month-end form.
- Keep prompts short. Student and parent questionnaires of 3 to 5 questions get answered; 25 questions do not.
- Draft with AI, approve with people. Let AI summarise observations into a remark in the right language, but a teacher reads and approves every remark before it reaches a child record or parent.
- Map once. Map your assessments to the competencies of each stage one time per year, then reuse the mapping.
- Print only what you need. Use the template for your stage and board; do not invent extra pages.
How do you set up the HPC step by step?
Setting up the Holistic Progress Card in a school
Step 1: confirm the requirement
Check your board circulars and state instructions to see whether the HPC is required, optional or in pilot for your classes.
Step 2: get the official templates
Download the PARAKH template for each stage you run and store its level names and competency list as configuration.
Step 3: map your assessments
Link each existing test, project and activity to the relevant competencies once for the year.
Step 4: collect inputs
Use quick teacher entries during the term, a student self-assessment form and a short parent form sent by WhatsApp.
Step 5: draft remarks
Generate draft remarks from the evidence in Hindi or English; teachers review, edit and approve each one.
Step 6: review and publish
The class teacher and principal check a sample, then the card is published to parents with a note on how to read it.
Step 7: keep the evidence
Store the evidence behind each remark so you can explain it at a parent-teacher meeting.
What should AI do and not do in an HPC?
AI is useful for turning a teacher's short notes into a clear remark, translating between Hindi and English and checking for tone. It should not decide a level, invent evidence or write about a child with no teacher input. Redaction should remove names and identifiers before text leaves your system, and a free-tier provider should only ever receive redacted text. Every AI-drafted remark must be approved by a teacher. See the school AI-use policy guide for rules your staff can follow.
How do you present the HPC to parents?
- Explain in a short note why the card looks different from a marks sheet.
- Use plain Hindi or English, not education jargon.
- Show strengths first and give one or two concrete actions for home.
- Keep comparisons between children out of the card; the HPC describes growth, not rank.
- Offer a short parent-teacher meeting for families who want to discuss it.
Where does software help?
Acavya has HPC templates and input flows in the exams and report-card module, with level names coming from a rule pack so a change in official wording is a data update. AI drafts remarks once an AI model is connected, and teachers approve them. Schools on ICSE, state boards, IB, Cambridge or their own curriculum use the same report-card module with their own grading rule pack. See the features overview for the related modules.
Does CBSE require every school to issue an HPC?
Our research notes say the HPC is not uniformly mandated by CBSE. Adoption varies, so check your board circulars and state instructions before treating it as a requirement.
What are the HPC levels called?
Sources disagree: some say Beginner, Proficient, Advanced, with Stream, Mountain, Sky at the foundational stage, and others say Beginner, Progressing, Proficient. Use the official PARAKH template for your stage.
Can AI write HPC remarks?
It can draft them from teacher notes in Hindi or English, but a teacher must approve every remark. Redact names before any text goes to an AI provider.
Do parents have to fill a form?
The HPC is multi-source, so parent input is part of it, but keep it short and offer a paper or WhatsApp route for families who cannot use an app.
Start a trial with demo data and look at the report-card flow.
30-day free trial for up to 30 students, no card needed. You set up your own institute, with an optional sample setup to explore. The Free plan is for tutors.