2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 22, 2026 10:32 AM IST
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has started the registration process for the Student Holistic Insight and Nurturing Evaluation (SHINE) 2026 from today, August 21. The programme, as per CISCE, serves as a new-generation digital assessment system launched for schools to understand students’ learning needs and provide timely support accordingly.
The digital assessment initiative has been introduced by the board in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Through the CISCE Key Stage Assessments under SHINE, the board aims to broaden the horizon of student evaluation beyond the traditional year-end examinations to develop a more timely and meaningful analysis of students’ learning patterns.
SHINE 2026 will test students at three important stages of their schooling, as per the competencies expected from students who have passed classes 3, 5 and 8. According to the press release, students who are currently enrolled in Classes 4, 6 and 9 will participate in the assessment. The evaluation will be conducted from November 15 to November 30, 2026. By testing students at key stages of their school education, SHINE will help schools to monitor students’ progress, identify learning gaps and provide assistance to students by noticing their needs.
For children studying in class 4, the assessment will be conducted through a game-based format, while students pursuing classes 6 and 9 will be required to undergo digital assessments based on Class 5 and 8 competencies, respectively. The report achieved from these assessments will assist schools in identifying the strong and weak academic concepts of students, and how teachers can work on points where students are facing difficulty.
CISCE has launched this evaluation programme after conducting a pilot last year. In the trial phase, around one lakh students from a total of 273 schools across India participated. The test examined students’ grasp of academic concepts, reasoning skills, capability of applying book concepts to real-life situations, and social-emotional development as per their age.