Public examinations are high stakes standardized tests focusing on achievement of cognitive skills administered at the end of certain levels (primary and secondary) by external agencies, often for the purpose of selecting students for transition to higher levels.
Bernard, J. 2009. Learning counts: An overview of approaches to understanding, assessing and improving the quality of education for all. Paris: UNESCO.
As an example of a public examination system used in some EFA-FTI countries, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), founded in 1952, conducts public examinations using "internationally accepted procedures" and "providing qualitative and reliable educational assessment" in Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, with a focus on school-leaving, university entrance and certificate examinations (UNESCO, 2009:28).
Bernard, J. 2009. Learning counts: An overview of approaches to understanding, assessing and improving the quality of education for all. Paris: UNESCO.