ASSESSMENT GENERATED CONSTRAINTS TO INSTRUCTION AND LEARNING IN THE NIGERIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM- IMPLICATIONS FOR LIFE-LONG LEARNING AND PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

The system of assessment in Nigerian schools which places an overbearing emphasis on successes recorded in external examinations has resulted in syllabus- bound instruction and a total lack of consideration for the psychological characteristics, interests and needs of the learners. The role assessment outcomes are expected to play in curriculum review/ improvement is neglected in favour of the need for learners to meet curriculum objectives rather than the curriculum matching their characteristics and needs. Massive failure rates have resulted in teachers increasingly adopting examination- oriented teaching strategies to meet the demands of external examinations. On their own part, the poorly motivated learners, who are unable to see the relevance of what they are being made to learn, increasingly adopt surface and strategic approaches to learning, sustained by instrumental motives. With professional educationists increasingly losing their influence in deciding the mode of educational provision and good school practices to politicians, the crisis in the school system continues to mount, with increasing examination malpractices, declining quality of output and diminishing productivity. The way out of the problem lies in the effective use of assessment results in curriculum improvement and meeting the psychological needs of learners through enhanced school-based, formative assessment. Addressing Learner competencies and aspirations in curriculum review and implementation should be central in the quest to instill the values of life-long learning, service and productivity in the products of the school.