EduWatch rates conduct of ‘computerized’ 2022 NST 9/10

Despite describing the conduct of this year’s National Standardised Test for primary four students as poor, Africa Education Watch has rated 9/10, the administration of the computerized national examination for primary 2 students.

“The 2022 National Standardised Test for primary two was 9/10 because it was computerized, and held in batches over a two-week period,” the Director of EduWatch, Kofi Asare said in a social media post sighted by AcademicWeek.com.

The Education Policy Analyst has also indicated that less than 8 per cent of private schools across the country participated in the 2022 edition of the National Standardized Test (NST) for primary four public and private students.

More than 1.5 million prospective students from government and private schools according to data from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) sat for this academic year’s National Standardises Test.

In all, a total of 18,000 public and private schools participated in the national examination which was administered by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), in collaboration with the Education Ministry.

The five days National Standardised Test which began on December, 5 was supervised by 9,000 test administrators across the country. The conduct of the primary four pupils Test was shifted from December 15, 2022, to 16, 2022.

The Deputy Minister of Education, John Ntim Fordjour has said the essence of the examination is to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of pupils in literacy and numeracy which are the foundational skills required for learning.

After visiting some schools, the Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Eric Nkansah also said the results of the Test will generate data at the national level and identify the learning gaps that need to be addressed.

“The National Standardised Test (NST) will provide data to identify and analyse variations in learner achievement by region, gender, location and school type,” the GES Director-General told the media during his 2022 NST visit.

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