Purpose: School teachers had difficulty in monitoring and assessing the students during the COVID-19 lockdown. This study attempts to understand the assessment and teaching challenges during COVID-19 and how this problematic situation was reshaped by new normal teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative research included perspectives of 84 school teachers using an interview-based approach. Pedagogical assessment, societal assessment and personal assessment were considered in the study. Findings: Content switching, student involvement and individual assessment are the challenges in terms of pedagogy. Buying power of electronic equipment, digital skills, study environment and distraction are the challenges faced in terms of personal challenges. Personal connect and interaction intensity is the challenges faced in terms of social challenges. Teachers adapted to synchronous, blended, flipped and asynchronous modes of teaching. Originality/value: The authors' study will support schools in developing their institutional plans to understand teachers' apprehensions better and to check the readiness of the schools towards teaching and learning approaches.