Chandigarh, July 3 -- Even as Chandigarh has performed better than the national average in the Parakh Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 - a nationwide test to check learning levels of students in Classes 3, 6 and 9 - the detailed report has revealed glaring learning gaps in key areas. The survey, earlier called the National Achievement Survey, is conducted every three years by NCERT under the Union ministry of education. The latest edition took place on December 4, 2024, with 3,365 students from 81 government and private schools appearing for the test in Chandigarh. Through multiple-choice questions, Class 3 students were quizzed about language and mathematics. The questions for Class 6 students pertained to language, mathematics and the world around us, while those for Class 9 were about language, mathematics and science. In the results released in Delhi on Wednesday, Chandigarh performed better than the national average in all subjects and classes - except Class 3 maths, where its score matched the national average. But the gap between what students are expected to know and what they actually know grew wider in higher classes (see box). In Classes 6 and 9, Chandigarh ranked third among all states and UTs, but among just UTs, it's first in both grades. It shared the first spot in Class 6 with Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. It stood first among UTs even in Class 3, tied with Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but ninth among all states and UTs. UT director of school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar said the detailed data will help the UT analyse weaknesses and make targeted improvements....