Assessment Practices for Students with Disabilities in Nigerian Secondary Schools: A Professional Review

This study reviews the assessment practices applied to students with disabilities in Nigerian secondary schools, with a focus on the alignment of these practices with recognised principles of fair, valid, and disability-inclusive assessment. Assessment for students with disabilities encompasses both formal academic evaluation and informal, diagnostic, and portfolio-based approaches that recognise diverse demonstrations of learning. In Nigerian secondary schools, assessment remains predominantly examination-oriented and standardised, with limited accommodation for diverse learning profiles. Adopting a documentary analysis and survey design, the study analyses assessment guidelines from Nigeria's examination bodies and ten state education authorities, and surveys one hundred and eighty special education teachers and examination officers from secondary schools across four geopolitical zones. Data from the survey are analysed using descriptive statistics, while document analysis employs qualitative content analysis with a disability-inclusive assessment framework as the analytical lens. The study identifies the range of accommodations provided, procedural barriers to accommodation access, and teacher competence in alternative assessment design. Findings are expected to reveal systemic inadequacies in the provision and quality of disability-responsive assessment in Nigerian secondary schools. Recommendations include revising the National Examination Council and West African Examination Council accommodation policies and developing teacher competency standards for inclusive assessment. Keywords: assessment practices, students with disabilities, secondary schools, Nigeria, inclusive assessment.