New school continuous assessment: Stakeholders align on system readiness

The Federal Government has  phased out the National Common Entrance Examination for unity schools. The examination was replaced with a continuous assessment system and a Learner Identification Number (LIN) to track pupils from primary to secondary school. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, while speaking on the plan, explained that the examination would be gradually removed and replaced with a better system called Continuous Assessment, or CA. However, some stakeholders have argued that the proposal is both pedagogically sound and aligned with global best practices—but its feasibility in Nigeria depends heavily on system readiness, not just policy intention. Others have called for a redesign of the new Continuous Assessment to make it applicable and adaptable to Nigerian local situation, Bola Olajuwon and Damola Kola-Dare report.

New National Common Entrance Examination

• Admission to be on continuous assessment to evaluate a pupil’s performance over several years rather than a single exam.
• Learner ID of every student will be assigned a unique ID to monitor academic progression from primary.
• It’s aim at improving student retention and addresses the issue where only about 3 million out of 23 million public primary school pupils advance to secondary school.
• The government plans to work with states to increase school capacity.

As part ongoing reforms in education sector, the National Common Entrance Examination for unity schools was phased out. The examination was replaced with a continuous assessment system and a Learner Identification Number (LIN) to track pupils from primary to secondary school.

Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, while speaking on the plan, said a continuous assessment system that more appropriately reflects the pupil’s academic profile would replace the ad hoc entry exam that has been in place for years. The continuous assessment would itself be tracked by a unique LIN that every pupil would be assigned from the point of enrolment into primary education.

According to the minister, the new reform will more comprehensively evaluate a pupil’s academic performance and qualification for entry into secondary level of education, since the assessment will be over the years of primary education and not just an instantaneous evaluation by entry exam. He explained that the examination will be gradually removed and replaced with a better system.

He said: “The CA will show how well a student has done from primary one. Even if a student moves schools, they can take their CA with them to the new school.”

Alausa also said the new system would help fix problems in moving from primary to secondary school, especially since many pupils don’t move on to the next level. The reform, the minister said, aimed to reduce pressure on the pupils, address low transition rates, and curb dropout rates.

How digital tracking will work

The LIN system, according to the minister, will enable authorities to monitor student progress in real-time and identify those who drop out of the system. This data-driven approach is expected to provide clearer insights into why students leave school prematurely.

 “If someone is expected to be in JSS1 and he is not there, we will be able to know the reason why he is not continuing his education,” Alausa explained. This level of oversight is intended to inform targeted interventions.

Beside the new modus operandi, the minister noted that efforts are ongoing to revive the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme to boost enrolment. The initiative may be moved to the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure improved monitoring and accountability

Digital tracking to monitor student retention

The LIN system will enable authorities to monitor pupils’ progress in real-time and identify those who drop out of the system. This data-driven approach is expected to provide clearer insights into why students leave school prematurely.

 “If someone is expected to be in JSS1 and he is not there, we will be able to know the reason why he is not continuing his education,” Alausa explained. This level of oversight is intended to inform targeted interventions.

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Stakeholders weigh

However, some stakeholders have looked into the feasibility of the policy. Others have called for focus on improving infrastructure rather than solely relying on new assessment methods to improve education.

One of those who supported the programme is the National President of the Early Childhood Association of Nigeria (ECAN) Prof. Babajide Abidogun. Prof. Abidogun noted that the proposal to replace the Common Entrance Examination with a Continuous Assessment (CA) system supported by a Learner Identification Number is both pedagogically sound and aligned with global best practices—but its feasibility in Nigeria depends heavily on system readiness, not just policy intention.

“The proposed reform is highly desirable but only partially feasible in its current form. Without strong teacher training, digital infrastructure, and standardized assessment frameworks, learner tracking could become inconsistent and unreliable.

 “Therefore, the most realistic pathway is not the abolition of the Common Entrance Examination alone, but a carefully phased transition into a hybrid system that balances continuous assessment with standardized moderation,” he said.

According to the ECAN Chief, the idea is educationally strong and developmentally appropriate for primary education since it aligns with how children actually learn—gradually, unevenly, and across multiple domains rather than through one-off high-stakes testing.

He noted that in practice, its feasibility raises serious concerns in three key areas namely record-keeping capacity in schools, loss or damage of pupil records during transitions or school transfers, limited training of teachers on standardized assessment documentation.

“Many primary schools, especially public ones, still rely on manual record systems. Challenges include:

Inconsistent documentation practices across schools, weak supervision and accountability systems.

Without a strong digital infrastructure, the Learner Identification Number system risks becoming a “policy on paper” rather than a functional tracking mechanism.

“Continuous assessment requires teachers who are skilled in observation-based evaluation, portfolio assessment, rubric-based grading and standardized reporting across schools.

 “In reality, many teachers were trained for exam-based evaluation, not continuous formative assessment, which may lead to inconsistency and bias.

“For a national learner tracking system to work, schools must be digitized, data systems must be secure and interoperable, power supply and internet access must be reliable.

Without these, data fragmentation and loss will remain a major risk,” the don said.

Should the Common Entrance Examination be retained?

Abidogun added: “From an Early Childhood Education standpoint, the Common Entrance Examination has clear limitations: It is high-stakes and anxiety-inducing for young learners, it assesses performance at a single point in time rather than development over time, it encourages rote learning rather than deep understanding, it disadvantages children from poorly resourced schools.

“However, it still serves one important function in Nigeria in that it provides a standardized national benchmark for transition into secondary school. So, removing it without a strong replacement system may create gaps in fairness and comparability.

 “A more balanced and realistic alternative rather than a total replacement, a blended assessment system is more feasible and developmentally appropriate.”

Other alternatives proposed

The don said: “The Hybrid Assessment Model Continuous Assessment (60–70%) and Standardised transition assessment (30–40%) will ensure child development is continuously tracked.

“There is still a national standard for placement Option 2; the Digital Portfolio System helps each pupil maintain academic records, projects and creative work. This aligns strongly with global Early Childhood best practice.

“Option 3: Cluster-Based Standardized Testing instead of a national exam. Regional or state-level moderated assessments, standardized but less pressure-driven and combined with school-based records.

“From the standpoint of Early Childhood Education and ECAN leadership: The direction of reform is correct (continuous assessment is developmentally appropriate).

The implementation readiness is the major concern

 “The system must move gradually from examination-heavy evaluation to evidence-based developmental tracking.”

Venerable Amiola Elijah Olufemi, a retired Principal Tutor at International School Lagos(ISL)  University of Lagos (UNILAG) said :”First and foremost, examination is not only measure that should be used to assess pupils either from primary schools or secondary schools, even up to university level, not all pupils will be good in cramming for examination.

“Considering the three domains of learning using Bloom’s tersoming of cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains, some students are good in cognitive domains, such pupils no matter what examination you give them and under any conditions, they will pass excellently well.  While other students in the same class will woefully fail.

 “So, if records of pupils are based on their performance based on the three domains and the records are well kept using the advantage of technology, I think it is very feasible.

Secondly, the two should be used together as a starting point and later stick to the new one until the latter is perfected.”