Critical Evaluation of National Curriculum Assessment Policy Programme in Nigeria

Abstract

Assessment is an integral and influential part of any educational system. Like elsewhere in the world, assessing students in Nigeria is the teachers’ crucial task that reflects the progress of classroom instruction. Assessment is seen as a normal classroom interaction and a tool for effective learning and teaching. Classroom assessment is the method for evaluating learners’ educational performance and attainment. At different levels and disciplines of education, assessment is used in various forms, and systems, and for various purposes. Assessment needs to be valid and reliable so as to produce useful information for teachers, students, parents, employers, and the government. The Nigeria National Policy on Education (2008) emphasized that Assessment for Learning (continuous assessment) shall be used in schools to ensure that learners are given a quality education. This article discusses the Nigeria Assessment For Learning Policy in regard to its validity, reliability, and relationship with learning. This article uses ‘continuous assessment’, ‘formative assessment’, and assessment for learning interchangeably. The article first presents the brief theoretical issues on educational learning assessment. Secondly, it reviews the related literature in educational assessment in the light of Assessment for Learning. Thirdly, the article critiques the assessment for Learning in relation to the validity, reliability, and impact on teaching-learning.