School children and national examinations: who fails who? A research report on the relationship between examination practice and curriculum objectives in Tanzania

The main objective of this study was to examine “the relationship between examination practice and curriculum objectives in Tanzania”. More specifically, the study sought to: a) Critically examine the types of examinations offered by NECTA under the current education curriculum; b) Discuss critically the process through which NECTA develops examinations questions; c) Assess the effectiveness of school-given and NECTA examinations in measuring attainment of curriculum objectives; and d) Assess the impact of examination practices in schools and other relevant settings on examination performance. Poor performance in national examinations has become a national concern, raising anxiety among parents, students and the general public. Thus, any attempt directed towards coming up with a solution to this problem will be welcome by all stakeholders. The findings of this study are therefore expected to address important gaps regarding the causes of poor performance in national examinations. In particular, the findings of this study are expected to contribute important information regarding how curriculum implementation and examination practices explain the performance in national examinations. This may ultimately inform policy directions in education in future. It is also expected that the findings of this study will also provide important insights for improving teaching and learning practices, as well as examination practices in future.