India, Sept. 10 -- A few years ago, Meghalaya was better known for the challenges of delivering quality education across difficult terrain than for education reform. Today, it has emerged as one of the states showing steady improvement in the Performance Grading Index (PGI), driven by stronger teacher deployment, better governance and improved school infrastructure. Its progress reflects a larger shift in India's education story: education systems are becoming stronger. The next challenge is ensuring that children learn better because of it.

The ministry of education's Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 marks an important evolution in how India measures school education. Moving beyond state rankings to performance bands, it encourages c...