CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The history of assessment in the Nigerian educational system is obscure; maybe its earliest appearance was in the form of an ordinance enacted in 1882, which included the following criteria for granting grants for teacher wages. To begin, funds for organization and discipline are provided, along with special awards to schools that achieve a high proportion of passes and a high quality of academic performance. Second, each subject is granted a captivation permit (Anyanwu, 2021).
In 1889, another ordinance was established, which stated in part that no grant would be granted in favor of any school unless the institution had achieved the required percentage of efficiency in public examinations. This explains the importance of assessment and testing in the school curriculum; evaluation is generally straightforward because it occurs at the conclusion of the academic year. In secondary schools, a very selective system of evaluation was used. A written examination followed by an oral interview served as the passport to secondary education. There were term and final examinations on which most schools relied for promotion purposes (Edet, 2014).
