National Educational Assessment

and Examinations Agency

Policy Framework for Ethiopian National

Examination

August 2012
Addis Ababa
Contents Page
1. Background ..................................................................................................................... 2
2. Acronyms..................................................................................................................... 3
3. The Nature of National Examinations ......................................................................... 4
4. Purposes of National Examinations ............................................................................. 5
5. Principles for National Examination............................................................................... 6
5.1. Validity .................................................................................................................... 6
5.2. Reliability................................................................................................................. 6
5.3. Fairness .................................................................................................................... 6
5.4. Credibility ................................................................................................................ 7
6. Schedule of National Examinations ............................................................................ 7
6.1 The Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination: ....................................... 7
6.2. The Ethiopian General Secondary Education Certificate Examination: .............. 8
6.3 The Ethiopian University Entrance Examination: ............................................... 9
7. Requirements to Sit for National Examinations ........................................................ 10
7.1. To Register for PSLCE ...................................................................................... 10
7.2. To Register for EGSECE ................................................................................... 10
7.3. To Register for UEE ........................................................................................... 11
8. Responsible Bodies for the National Examinations .................................................. 12
8.1 Ministry of Education: ....................................................................................... 13
8.2. The NEAEA Board: ........................................................................................... 13
9.3 NEAEA: ............................................................................................................. 13
8.4 Regional Education Bureau (REB): ................................................................... 15
8.5 Zone Education Departments (ZED).................................................................. 15
8.6. Woreda Education Office (WEO) ......................................................................... 16
8.7 Schools ............................................................................................................... 16
8.8. Police .................................................................................................................. 17
8.9 Teachers ............................................................................................................. 17
9. Institute of Educational Research of Addis Ababa University: ................................. 17

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 National Educational Assessment and Examinations Agency
Policy Framework for Ethiopian National Examination
August 2012

1. Background

Examinations are used to measure what students achieved after being instructed on
specified curriculum for a specified time through formal assessment processes that
generally involve supervised conditions. Among the various types of examinations those
that are used for passing students from one level to another are the most important ones.
To serve the purpose for which they are intended such examinations should be valid,
reliable and fair. Such examinations could be regional, national or international
examinations.

The Education and Training Policy (ETP) of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia has introduced an eight year primary education and four year secondary
education system. The Primary education is divided into first cycle (Grades 1-4) and
second cycle (grades 5-8). The Secondary education is likewise divided into two cycles
as General Secondary (grades 9-10) and second cycle secondary education or Preparatory
Program (grades 11and 12). The policy also provides for national examinations to be
given at the end of the second cycle of primary education (Grade 8), first cycle of
secondary education (Grade 10) and at the end of the second cycle of secondary
education (Grade 12). These examinations are high-stake examinations as they determine
a candidate’s ability to go on to the next level of the education ladder or not. Except for
the four emerging regions all others develop and administer their own Primary School
Leaving Certificate Examinations (the Grade 8 examination). For the four emerging
regions these examinations are prepared by the National Educational Assessment and
Examinations Agency (NEAEA) and administered by the regions themselves.

NEAEA is established by Council of Ministers Regulation No. 260/2012 as a semi-

autonomous agency to accomplish three main objectives of which one is “to determine

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students who are eligible to be promoted to the next level of education through the
administration of national exams”.

Ethiopia had a relatively long history of producing and administering her own national
examination. Introduction of a national examination in the country dates back to 1945.
An examination body, responsible for giving the Ethiopian Secondary School Leaving
Certificate Examination (ESLCE), had been created under the Ministry of Education in
1950. This examination started to be given to students who completed 12 years of
schooling as a university entrance examination. At the time, in addition to the ESLCE,
Ethiopian students were required to take the General Certificate of Education
Examinations (prepared in England) until 1955.

The ESLCE was replaced by the Ethiopian General Secondary Education Certificate
Examination (EGSECE) since 2003 in line with the provisions of the Education and
Training Policy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The EGSECE is given
to those who completed Grade 10. After Grade 10 students are streamed into Preparatory
program to study for two years after which they will join higher education institution, and
to Technical and Vocational Education and Training Program to learn and train in various
trades. Those who joined Preparatory Program will sit for the University Entrance
Examination (UEE) after completing Grade 12. Thus, national examinations are given in
Ethiopia at regional or central government level. They, however, serve nearly similar
purposes.

2. Acronyms

AAU: Addis Ababa University

ETP: Education and Training Policy
EGSECE: Ethiopian General Secondary Education certificate Examination
ESLCE: Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination
EUEE: Ethiopian University Entrance Examination
FDRE: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

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NEAEA: National Educational Assessment and Examinations Agency
PSLCE: Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination
REB: Regional Education Bureau
WEO: Woreda Education Office
ZEO: Zone Education Office

3. The Nature of National Examinations

Strict care is taken to make the national examinations valid, reliable and fair.
Examinations are valid as far as they accurately test the curriculum taught in schools.
Validity of an assessment is the degree to which it measures what it is supposed to
measure. All national examinations in Ethiopia are supposed to measure whether students
have achieved the objectives set for the grade levels or not. To achieve this, the
examinations are based on the national curriculum. Strict adherence to the curriculum is
enforced in all the examinations by developing the questions on the basis of a Table of
Item Specification that is founded on the curriculum materials of each subject area. In
addition to the Table of Item Specification, the written items pass through a process of
item reviewing. This process enhances the content and face validity of the tests. The
content validity evidence examines the degree to which the content of the test matches a
content domain associated with the construct.
Examinations results should be reliable and provide consistent results to all exam takers.
They should also be unbiased. The correction of the EGSECE and UEE is done by
machine and the scores that are released are free from human errors and biases. NEAEA
always strives to have the state of the art exam marking technology at its disposal.
Examinations are fair as they are designed in a way that allows students to demonstrate
what they know and are able to do without being hindered by extraneous situations.
There is a system of checking the final camera ready drafts of the exams for any type of
bias in case some are overlooked during the process of exam preparation. The
introduction of the review process also contributes for the fairness of tests for all exam
takers.

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A review mechanism is introduced to insure the content validity of the exams that are
prepared and administered by the Agency

4. Purposes of National Examinations

The national examinations in Ethiopia serve a number of purposes. The first purpose is
certification. This is declaring level of attainment of the students’ performance against
the educational objectives stated in the curriculum for the grade levels they have
completed. Thus, students who have successfully completed the General Secondary
Education are awarded the Ethiopian General Secondary Education Certificate
Examination Certificate; and those who successfully completed the Preparatory program
are awarded the University Entrance Examination Certificate. The certificates testify the
level of achievement of the student who received it.

Secondly, they are used for promotion of students. That is they are used for determining
the students who should go to the next level of education and who should not.

Thirdly, they are used for selection purpose. In this respect the EGSECE result serve as a
main instrument for deciding which students should join the preparatory program and
which of them should go on to the TVET program among those who sat for the EGESCE.
Furthermore they are used to assign students into the various vocational and training
fields. Placement of students in university and in the various fields of study at university
level is based on their performance in the UEE. Those who scored high marks have
greater chance of joining the University of their Choice as well as the field of study they
are interested in.

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5. Principles for National Examination

The undertaking of the national examination exercise in Ethiopia is guided

by the following principles:

5.1. Validity

Relying on the Education and Training Policy and the national curriculum,
national examination should fit for the purpose. The learning outcomes
described in the curriculum documents that cover the level of
knowledge/understanding, cognitive skills, practical skills, and attitudinal
skills. The National Examination must cover all of these learning objectives
and that it is appropriately designed to do so. National Examination relies
on

5.2. Reliability
National Examination Development and administration, marking and
grading processes and procedures will be accurate, consistent, and
trustworthy and their broad outcomes will have the full confidence of all
parties.

5.3. Fairness

National Examination shall treat all examinees equally and give them an
equal opportunity to demonstrate their ability. All examinees taking national
examinations should have reasonable opportunities to manifest their
knowledge and ability without any difficulty.

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5.4. Credibility

National Examination development and administration marking and grading

processes and procedures as well as outputs need to be technically
appropriate and convincing and defensible to all stakeholders.

6. Schedule of National Examinations

The three National examinations occur at the following times as stipulated by the ETP:

6.1 The Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination:

At the completion of grade 8: all students in the country sit for nationwide examinations
after completing the second cycle of primary education. Those who pass this exam join
the first cycle of secondary education or grade nine. The subjects that are given at this
stage are Amharic, English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Social Studies,
Civics and Ethical Education and Mother Tongue (in regions where Mother Tongue is
given an academic subject). In regions where mother tongue is used as medium of
instruction the exams are developed in the respective language. The common
denominator for all these exams is the national curriculum that is developed at Federal
level and translated into the languages. Five of the Regional states and the two city
administrations develop and administer the PSLCE by themselves as this is their
prerogative bestowed to them by the FDRE Constitution and they have the capacity and
human resource capable of executing the task. For the four emerging regions the
examinations are developed by NEAEA centrally, as they presently did not have built the
requisite capability for developing the exams. This is a temporary arrangement. These
regions are expected to take over the responsibility as soon they believe they can manage
it by themselves. All regional exams use multiple choice type item format. The number of
items for each of the exams is similar in all regions. The marking and scoring process is
similar in all regions. First the average point obtained by each student is calculated and

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recorded. Then, the percentile rank of each average point is calculated and recorded. The
report cards that are awarded to students show both the average point that a student
obtained in the examinations and her/his percentile rank among the students that sat for
the examination.

6.2. The Ethiopian General Secondary Education Certificate

Examination:

At the completion of Grade 10: all students who have successfully completed the first
cycle of secondary education sit for the EGSECE. This is a nationally developed,
administered and scored examination. At this level students take nine or ten subjects
depending on the region where they have been taught. That is all students take nine core
subjects (Amharic, English, Mathematics, physics, Chemistry, Biology, Civics and
Ethical Education, Geography, History) and one additional language exam if mother
tongue has been given as a subject in the region s/he has been taught. Letter grades A, B,
C, D and F are recorded for the students. The letter grades A, B, C, D have points four,
three, two, and one respectively, while F is Zero. For calculating a grade point average
the scores of English and Mathematics and any five better scores of the other subjects are
considered. Visually impaired students sit for Amharic, English, Biology, Civics and
Ethical Education, Geography and History examinations. A point average of two is
considered as pass. In addition to those mentioned above there are Geez, French and
language exams of nations and nationalities. The Agency accommodates requests for the
inclusion of a language into the national examinations only after the request is deliberated
upon by the NEAEA Board and approved by MOE. In determining the passing mark the
needs of females, students with disabilities, students from pastoral families, and less
developed regions are taken into consideration. The passing mark for a year will not
serve for another year.

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6.3 The Ethiopian University Entrance Examination:

At the end the Grade 12: all preparatory students who have successfully completed the
second cycle of secondary education sit for the national UEE. The exam takers of the
UEE are streamed into Natural Science students and Social Science students at the
beginning of grade 11. Each of this group takes seven examinations. The Natural
Science students take English, Mathematics (for Natural Science), Aptitude, Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, and Civics and Ethical Education. The Social Science students take
English, Mathematics (for Social Science), Aptitude, Geography, History, Economics,
and Civics and Ethical Education. Each exam is marked out of hundred and the grades
are reported in raw score. According to the Education and Training Policy Universities
are responsible for the execution of university entrance examination. This is not practical
due to logistical reasons. Until these problems are resolved the Addis Ababa University
is mandated to develop the examinations on behalf of the universities, which in turn
entrusted the task to the Testing Center of the Institute of Educational Research (IER) in
the University. After the examinations are prepared IER hands over the other tasks to
NEAEA. NEAEA then takes over the rest of the examination administration
responsibility up to the issuing of certificates for the test takers. The pass or fail status of
a student is dependent on the score obtained out of 700. Visually impaired students sit for
English, Aptitude (The language part only) Geography and History, Economics and,
Civics and Ethical Education examinations. MOE in consultation with Higher education
institutions determines the passing mark for a particular year. In determining the passing
mark the needs of females, students with disabilities, students from pastoral families, and
less developed regions are taken into consideration. The passing mark for a year will not
serve for another year.

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7. Requirements to Sit for National Examinations

In order to sit for the three national examinations prospective examinees are required to
first to register by fulfilling certain requirements.

7.1. To Register for PSLCE

To register for the PSLCE applicants should one of the following requirements.
7.1.1. Complete grade 7 in an a school accredited by MOE or a REB and be attending
grade 8 in the year when s/he wants to take the PSLCE;
7.1.2. Who has sat for the PSLCE but failed to pass previously and can produce previous
certificate of the same examination;
7.1.3. Students who have been attending schools in Ethiopia or abroad that have
curriculum of their own can register for the exam only if they can produce
evidence that show the curriculum of their school is judged to be equivalent to the
Ethiopian one by MOE or a Regional Education Bureau (REB).

7.2. To Register for EGSECE

Applicants who want to register for the EGSECE should fulfill one of the following:
7.2.1. Students who are regular students of public or private schools are legible for
registration if they have passed the PSLCE before two years. They should be
students of a school that is accredited by MOE or REB in the two consecutive
years since taking the PSLCE, that is, they should complete grade 9 during the
first year and should be attending grade 10 during the year they want to register
for EGSECE. If they have interrupted their study they should produce legally
admissible evidence for the interruption.
7.2.2. Should complete general secondary education as extension student in three years at
a school that is accredited by a competent authority since passing the PSLCE.
They should complete the grade 9 lesson in three terms and should complete the
first term of grade 10 and be attending the remaining terms. The three years
should be consecutive. If they have interrupted their study they should produce
legally admissible evidence for the interruption.

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7.2.3. Who have sat for the EGSECE but failed to pass previously and can produce
previous certificate for the same examination.
7.2.4. Students who have been attending schools in Ethiopia or abroad that have
curriculum of their own can register for the exam only if they can produce
evidence that show the curriculum of their school is judged to be equivalent to the
Ethiopian one by MOE or a REB.
7.2.5. Students who have previously taken the EGSECE and scored the passing mark for
that particular year are not allowed to register to sit for the exam again.
7.2.6. Applicants who have been instructed in the old curriculum can register by
presenting ESLCE certificate or a transcript from grade 9 to 12 with a grade 8
national exam certificate that shows they have passed.
7.2.7. Applicants who after completing the course have been unable to sit for the exam
due to various reasons could register by presenting the PSLCE certificate and the
transcript that show s/he has completed grade 9 and 10.
7.2.8. Distance students can take EGSECE as private candidates if after passing the
PSLCE they have completed the grade 9 lessons in three terms and completed the
first term of grade 10. They should also have a letter from the institution that is
teaching them that they are learning the grade 10 two terms in the remaining
period until the EGSECE is given.
7.2.9. Regular students register for Geez, French and nations and nationality languages
only if they have been learning in schools accredited to teach these subjects as
languages. Applicants who have transcripts that show that they have learned the
above languages as regular students in grade 9 and 10 or those who have an
EGSECE certificate in which grades are recorded for these subjects eligible for
registration.

7.3. To Register for UEE

A person who wants to register for the UEE should satisfy one of the following
requirements.

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7.3.1.Applicants who attended public or private school that is accredited by the MOE or
REB as regular (daytime) student are legible for registration if they have passed
the EGSECE before two years. With the proviso that the two years consecutively
follow the year they have taken the EGSECE, that is, they are legible only if they
have complete grade 11 during the first year after taking the EGSECE and should
be attending grade 12 during the year they want to register for EGSECE. If they
have interrupted their study they should produce legally admissible evidence for
the interruption.
7.3.2. Should complete general secondary education as extension student in three years at
a school that is accredited by a competent authority since passing the EGSECE.
They should complete the grade 11 lesson in three terms and should complete the
first term of grade 12 and be attending the remaining terms during the year when
s/he wants to register for the UEE. The three years should be consecutive. If they
have interrupted their study they should produce legally admissible evidence for
the interruption.
7.3.3. Should have sat for the UEE but failed to pass previously and can produce previous
certificate for the same examination. Students who fail to pass the UEE are
allowed to sit for the exam repeatedly until they get pass mark or decide by
themselves that they have had enough and quit.
7.3.4. Students who have previously taken the EGSECE and scored the passing mark for
that particular year are not allowed to register to sit for the exam again.
7.3.5. Applicants who, after completing the required course, have been unable to sit for
the exam with their cohorts due to various reasons could register by presenting the
EGSECE certificate and the transcript that show their grade 11 and 12.

8. Responsible Bodies for the National Examinations

The responsibility of executing the tasks related to the three national examinations is
vested in various bodies. Federal, regional, zonal, woreda, school level bodies have their
own distinct tasks to perform. The federal level bodies comprise the ministry of
Education, the NEAEA and its Board

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8.1 Ministry of Education:
The ministry is responsible for promulgating policies and directives that affect the whole
process of development and administration of national examinations as a whole. It
decides on matters that affect curriculum on which the national examinations are based. It
could suggest a revision on the ETP, the document that has established the national
education system and thereby the national examination structure. It can introduce a policy
that change the exit points of the education system at which national examinations should
be given. The ministry is the final body that approves the recommendations of the Board
of the NEAEA on issues like national examination administration improvement,
eligibility of subjects for national examination, and the like. The ministry decides the
passing mark for each EGSECE and UEE. MOE in consultation with Higher education
institutions determines the passing mark for a particular year.

8.2. The NEAEA Board:

The NEAEA Board is responsible for issuing working guidelines on administration of

national exams; deliberates on strategies developed by the agency on the administration
of national exams; deliberates on subjects identified as eligible for national exams and
presents results of its deliberation for approval to MOE. Upon approval by the Ministry
of education it follows up the implementation of them.

9.3 NEAEA:

The NEAEA is the major player in the national examination process and has the
following responsibilities.
i. Regarding the PSLCE: It develops and prints the grade eight national examination for the
emerging regions and Ethiopian International schools abroad;
ii. Regarding EGSECE:
a) the Agency carries out the registration of prospective examinees through
the regional, zonal or woreda level education bureaus or offices;
b) issues admission cards that enable the examinees to enter the exam halls;
c) develops, prints and distributes the examinations,

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 d) assigns liaison personnel from the center at each regional center, selects
and assigns exam center coordinators, collects the answer sheets of
candidates, corrects them and finally issues results.
e) Oversees the timely preparation of exam centers,
f) Decides on the number of personnel that would be required to run the
examination at each exam center – center chiefs, supervisors, invigilators,
answer sheet counters, examination heads and police force – and send the
list to the regions for assigning.
g) Ensures the REBs have assigned enough center chiefs, supervisors,
invigilators, answer sheet counters, examination heads and police force
according to the list it sent.
h) allocates and distributes the budget for exam administration to regions,

iii. Regarding the UEE:

a) the Agency carries out the registration of prospective examinees through

the regional, zonal or woreda level education bureaus or offices;
b) issues admission cards that enable the examinees to enter the exam halls;
c) Collects the camera-ready exam copies from the exam developing body,
prints and distributes them to the exam centers
d) assigns liaison personnel from the center at each regional center, selects
and assigns exam center coordinators, collects the answer sheets of
candidates, corrects them and finally issues results.
e) Oversees the timely preparation of exam centers,
f) Decides on the number of personnel that would be required to run the
examination at each exam center – center chiefs, supervisors, invigilators,
answer sheet counters, examination heads and police force – and send the
list to the regions for assigning.
g) Ensures the REBs have assigned enough center chiefs, supervisors,
invigilators, answer sheet counters, examination heads and police force
according to the list it sent.

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 h) allocates and distributes the budget for exam administration to regions,

8.4 Regional Education Bureau (REB):

The REBs are responsible for:

a) Developing, administering and issuing results of the grade eight national
examinations.
b) Registering prospective EGSECE and UEE exam takers;
c) Covering the examination fees of the regular students in their respective
region
d) Organizing examination centers;
e) Organizing transport for exam centers that are out of the main road,
f) Choosing and assigning center chiefs, supervisors and invigilators to exam
centers;
g) Administering the budget allocated for their region for examination
administration;
h) Collecting the report certificates of the exam takers of their region form
NEAEA and distribute them.

8.5 Zone Education Departments (ZED)

Zone Education Departments are responsible for:

a) Registering prospective EGSECE and UEE exam takers;

b) Organizing examination centers;
c) organizing transport for exam centers that are out of the main road,
d) choosing and assigning center chiefs, supervisors and invigilators to exam
centers;
e) administering the budget allocated for their zone for examination
administration;
f) collecting the report certificates of the exam takers of their zone form
NEAEA and distribute them.

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8.6. Woreda Education Office (WEO)

The woreda education offices are responsible for:

a) Registering prospective EGSECE and UEE exam takers;

b) Collecting Examination fees from private candidates in their woredas
c) Organizing examination centers;
d) organizing transport for exam centers that are out of the main road,
e) choosing and assigning center chiefs, supervisors and invigilators to exam
centers;
f) administering the budget allocated for their woreda for examination
administration;
g) collecting the report certificates of the exam takers of their region form
NEAEA and distribute them.
h) Facilitate transportation for the examination center chief during the exam
period.

8.7 Schools

Schools are usually exam centers and have the following responsibilities.

a) Registering prospective regular and extension EGSECE and UEE exam

takers;
b) Collecting the examination fee from extension students
c) Organizing examination halls for regular students;
d) Providing office and office facilities to the examination center chief;
e) Endorsing with the school seal the correctness of documents on which
payment is made;
f) Providing necessary support to the center chiefs, supervisors and
invigilators during the exam period

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8.8. Police
The police forces at federal and regional level have the following responsibilities.

a) Provide personnel guard the printing establishment during the printing of

the exams;
b) Guard the examination during the transportation of the exams from the
center to the examination centers;
c) Providing safe and enough storage area for examination packages when
they arrive at woreda or town administration, as well as guarding it for 24
hours a day until they are administered;
d) Keeping the examination center safe and conducive for examination while
the examinations are going on.
e) Provide space for storage of packed answer sheets of the examinees until
they are ready for transpiration to the center;
f) Giving support to the examination officials when they demand it.

8.9 Teachers

Teachers have many responsibilities in the national examinations. It is from teachers that
Cluster coordinators, center chiefs, supervisors and invigilators are recruited. As Center
chief teachers They are also responsible for administration of the exam, collection of
answer sheet and sending the same to pick-up centers. They are also responsible for
ordering payment for invigilation and supervision duties for people engaged in the
examination administration. Therefore, they are expected to do the job with
meticulousness and honesty. As center chiefs they are also responsible for

9. Institute of Educational Research of Addis Ababa University:

This Institute of Educational Research of Addis Ababa University is mandated by the

higher education institutions of the country to develop the examinations for the UEE on
their behalf. As a result it develops the examinations, prepares a camera-ready copy and
hands them over to the NEAEA for printing and administration.

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