Research group Institute for Education Studies (IFEST) has commended the Ministry of Education for the proposal to introduce a national standards assessment test (NSAT) for Primary 4 pupils this year.
IFEST believes the tracking of students’ performance in addition to monitoring the fidelity of implementation of the standards-based curriculum is key to ensuring improvement in learning outcomes.
These were contained in a statement issued by Acting Executive Director Peter Anti on Monday, June 7.
It comes in the wake of an announcement by the sector minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, that standard-based tests will be conducted for primary pupils periodically to assess their performance.
Dr Adutwum announced this on Sunday, June 6 at a press conference.
But IFEST is concerned about the sanctity and validity of the assessment, recommending the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA) to handle the test.
“While we are not oblivious of the enormity of work involved in organising such a national test which might make the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) the default choice, it is our considerable opinion that the NSAT should be spearheaded by NaCCA with WAEC as the collaborating agency.
“IFEST trusts that such an arrangement will strengthen the institutional capacity of NaCCA and position it to be able to oversee future national examinations.”