National Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Grade 4 & Grade 8 Students (2022/2023)

In the 2022/2023 academic year, the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka, with financial support from the World Bank, commissioned the National Education Research and Evaluation Center (NEREC) at the University of Colombo to conduct a national assessment of student performance in mathematics and English. The outcomes of this assessment were presented on August 29, 2024.

The assessment, covering Grade 4 and Grade 8 students, was designed for detailed analysis across various dimensions, including province, type of school, gender, locality, and medium of instruction. For consistency, the same examination papers were used for Grade 4 students in 2015 and 2022, and for Grade 8 students in 2016 and 2022.

The results revealed notable improvements in student performance in both subjects, particularly in mathematics. Despite these gains, significant disparities persist among different demographic groups. Variations were observed across provinces, types of schools, gender, locality, and the medium of instruction, indicating ongoing inequalities within Sri Lanka’s state education system.

To address these disparities, it is recommended that policymakers develop targeted curricula and strategies tailored to the needs of different student groups. Increased financial resources should be allocated to underprivileged provinces, localities, and schools. Additionally, measures should be explored to enhance the academic performance of boys in areas where they are underperforming.