Using ALIGN to Create a National Evaluation Framework For Reading in Nigeria

• In Event: Aligning Learning Inputs to Global Norms (ALIGN) for Minimum Proficiency: Case Studies from Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Nigeria

Proposal

This presentation will focus on a five-year donor-funded program in Nigeria working on evidenced-based early grade reading systems intervention. The project strengthens the capacity of Bauchi and Sokoto states to significantly improve reading outcomes for more than 1 million school-aged children. Creative Associates was asked to support the development of a national evaluation framework for reading (NEFR) for Nigeria, which has a federated political system. In Nigeria, each state has its own Ministry of Education responsible for coordinating educational planning. Although there is a national curriculum, languages of instruction vary by state, and states can develop their own TLM and teacher training programs. For over a decade, Nigeria has been working with development partners to improve reading skills in early primary grades. The outcomes from these interventions strongly suggested the need for a NEFR. The goal of the NEFR is to define common goals and measures to assess progress. The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) developed a NEFR to identify the minimum knowledge and skills learners should develop at each grade level, regardless of the state, in the nine Nigerian languages most widely spoken across the country, and English. The NEFR serves as a reference for curricula revision, TLM production, teacher training, book publishing, and assessment.

Using the assessment component of the ALIGN process, the project created the NEFR through two five-day workshops. The first invited representatives from each state and language group to review the curriculum and create a common set of standards. The second was used to create exemplar texts for each grade level for use on updated assessments.

Following the two workshops, the new NEFR was finalized and gained national approval. Several projects and states have already begun to use the framework to revise other components of the education system. However, the ALIGN process is needed at the national level to review the curriculum and accompanying TLM and teacher training materials to identify gaps and opportunities for alignment to the GPF and the new NEFR.

This presentation will provide an overview of the ALIGN process in Nigeria and how ALIGN can be used to align standards at the state, national, and international levels and across multiple languages of instruction. This will include an explanation of how the team created buy-in among multiple stakeholders, including government entities and development partners at the national and state levels to make the ALIGN process possible. The presentation may also share how a follow-on project will continue ALIGN activities in Nigeria.

Author

• Wale Samuel, Education Development Center EDC