Published Paper Details:

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the NIPUN Bharat Mission have firmly established Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) as the highest educational priority in India's school system. The NIPUN Lakshyas are grade-wise, measurable learning benchmarks for children in Balvatika, Grade 1, and Grade 2, which define the irreducible minimum competencies every child must demonstrate before transitioning to Grade 3. However, a critical challenge in realizing this vision is assessment: the Foundational Stage explicitly avoids formal written examinations, yet systematic monitoring of FLN mastery is indispensable. While several qualitative assessment tools exist, including learning diaries, rating scales, checklists, running records, and observation schedules--this article makes a focused argument for leveraging two tools that are already institutionally established and professionally familiar to every teacher: anecdotal records and student portfolios. Rather than introducing new assessment instruments, the article proposes that these existing tools, when deliberately and systematically aligned with the NIPUN Lakshyas, can serve as powerful, teacher-friendly mechanisms for monitoring FLN compliance in every child. Drawing on empirical research from the past decade and key Indian policy documents, including NEP 2020 and NCF-FS 2022, the article examines how anecdotal records and portfolios can be repositioned from generic developmental documentation tools into targeted FLN compliance trackers--ensuring that no child crosses into Grade 3 without demonstrable mastery of foundational skills.