This policy brief sets out the findings of an assessment of the learning outcomes of 2,444 pupils in the early stages of primary three (P3) in 358 private schools across four Local Government Areas in Lagos as a baseline to evaluate the Developing Effective Private Education in Nigeria (DEEPEN) Programme.
It found that just over half of P3 pupils in private schools in the four areas of Lagos have mastered the literacy curriculum and are achieving within the range expected of P3 pupils. It also concluded that about six percent of P3 pupils in private schools in the four areas of Lagos have mastered the numeracy curriculum and are achieving within the range expected of P3 pupils. They note that no significant difference was found between the performance of girls and boys in P3. Although encouraging in itself, they note they had no knowledge differences in learning outcomes between male and female students at other levels of the schooling system.
The report makes recommendations for teachers, including: giving pupils opportunities to be read to, and to read out loud; providing pupils immediate, consistent and frequent feedback, and explain the feedback; and show pupils how to use long addition techniques. It also makes recommendations for the government, such as: constructively regulating and proactively supporting private schools so that they can improve the quality of education they provide; providing information to parents on the quality and availability of different schools, including through sharing the results of the Graded Assessment of Private Schools (GAPS) with parents; and exploring options to finance students from low income households to attend better schools.