Cameroon is developing a national assessment system to measure what primary school students actually know and can do, marking a shift toward a more data-driven approach to improving education.
Rather than relying primarily on exam results, the new system will assess students' skills in French, English and mathematics to provide a more accurate picture of learning outcomes and identify gaps in classroom instruction.
The initiative is part of the Cameroon Teacher Professionalization Support Program (PAPMEC), funded by the Global Partnership for Education with technical support from UNESCO. According to UNESCO, the project has progressed in two phases. The first focused on defining the competencies that should be assessed. After classroom observations in 25 schools across the country, specialists from the Student Learning Assessment Unit, the Ministry of Basic Education and UNESCO met in Soa from May 25 to June 2, 2026, to develop and validate a national assessment framework.
The framework sets out the core knowledge and skills expected of primary school students and will serve as the foundation for future national learning assessments.
UNESCO said the document will guide the production of reliable data on primary school learning over the next four years, helping shape education policy while supporting the professional development of teachers, which is the central objective of PAPMEC.
The second phase focused on designing the assessment tools. From June 8 to 17, 2026, education inspectors, teachers from both the French- and English-speaking education systems, and assessment specialists met in Douala to develop the instruments that will be used during future data collection exercises.
The group created question banks in French, English and mathematics and designed questionnaires for students, teachers and school administrators.
Those questionnaires are intended to go beyond test scores by collecting information on classroom conditions, school environments and other factors that may influence student performance.
According to UNESCO, the assessment tools went through multiple rounds of drafting, review and validation and will now be tested in schools before being rolled out nationwide.
The new system is expected to help the Ministry of Basic Education identify learning gaps earlier and monitor how students' skills evolve over time. The findings could be used to adjust school curricula, improve teacher training and direct resources toward schools and regions facing the greatest challenges.
The assessments will also measure differences in learning outcomes across regions, schools, education systems and student groups. Ultimately, the success of the initiative will depend not only on collecting reliable data but also on turning those findings into concrete policy measures, particularly in teacher training, textbook development and support for struggling students.
By developing a national learning assessment system, Cameroon is seeking to make education policy more evidence-based. Its effectiveness, however, will depend on the representativeness of the students assessed, the regularity of the surveys and the public release of the results.
Patricia Ngo Ngouem