The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 data is used in the article to understand the correlations between contextual factors and district-level student performance in Maharashtra. While the adoption of innovative pedagogy is relatively uniform across the districts, the state exhibits substantial learning gaps in the emerging (bottom 25th percentile) districts. Further analysis reveals that home environment factors are the main distinguishing element and not school infrastructure. Educational policies must, therefore, extend beyond classroom improvements to include community-based learning programmes and targeted family support to address systemic inequalities.

The authors are........

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