Bhutan is a unique sovereign nation in the world. It has adopted Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product as an indicator of its developmental progress. This  governmental strategy percolates the country’s education policies and programmes. Since the introduction of modern education in the 1960s, Bhutan has made considerable  progress in achieving the objectives of enhancing access to education and ensuring   educational quality, equity, and efficiency within the system. The Royal Government of Bhutan introduced the National Education Assessment (NEA) to  understand what students in the country know and can do with their learning. The results of this large-scale assessment will enable the government to take proactive measures in the provision of quality and equitable education. NEA is a triennial large-scale assessment programme that evaluates the ability of students in using knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes related to core school subjects in grades III, VI and IX which are the key stages of student learning in Bhutan. NEA 2021 was conducted from November to December 2021 in Dzongkha Reading, English Reading and Mathematical Literacy with grade III learners. From this year onwards, children with disabilities will be able to participate in NEA as Accommodation Guidelines for the  Assessment of Children with Disabilities were developed. NEA being the first national assessment adopting the literacy approach, scales scores were used for the first time in the 2021 cycle for reporting learning of students. The scale scores are derived through scientific calculations based on international best practices. It is expected that NEA will continue to use scale scores for reporting learning achievements in the foreseeable future. Scale scores enable the comparison of assessment results of future cycles with the current ones, and trace changes in student learning over time and between different cohorts and grades. The average score for the whole population tested is initially set at 300, with a standard deviation of 50 for NEA 2021 for each testing literacy. However, if educational standards  improve, the overall average will rise in future cycles.