LEARNigeria Scale-up Pre-test – June 2017 to August 2017

As part of the survey and test development processes for the LEARNigeria assessment, a pre-test exercise was conducted in five (5) states – Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Ebonyi and Taraba. The first round of pre-tests was held in these states but the second round was carried out in only Plateau and Ebonyi states respectively. A collaborative approach was adopted for the exercise, with participation of technical partners (including language and linguistics specialists, representatives from the National Population Commission (NPC), Federal Ministry of Education, and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), curriculum experts from state education ministries, teachers, and state NGO partners.

The purpose of the pre-test was to test the validity and reliability of LEARNigeria survey instruments, by ensuring that the test tools are culturally- and age-appropriate for the target population and clearly worded; and also to review the test tools for typographical errors, translation mistakes, or unclear instructions.

Certain factors were critical to the success of the pre-test, from appropriateness of the test tools, to the level of engagement of the community, to the existing partnerships. The curriculum experts, language specialists, and other technical partners helped to validate the content of the test tools. Community leaders also supported by granting access to the communities.

The LEARNigeria data has the potential to initiate and sustain a country-wide Accountability in education with information about pupil performance from the LEARNigeria data being made accessible to the public through a Citizen Report Card {CRC}/ Community Score Card while sharing the results with other key stakeholders (e.g. local communities, parents, school management, and public officials). This can create change by publicly rewarding good performance.