Puntland high-stakes testing: Evidence from2022-2023 school year results

Abstract
The objective of high-stakes testing is to understand what students can and cannot do in real-life
settings, although critics believe otherwise. This paper discusses the effectiveness of Puntland’s
2022-2023 centralized exam by analyzing the performance of all secondary schools in Puntland.
In the 2023 school year, 7470 12th-grade students (2999 females and 4471 males) from different
secondary schools across Puntland participated in the centralized exam. Results indicate that 68.5
percent of test-takers scored below B, while A students account for 3.9 percent only. Of these,
only 1.3% (100) of female students earned an A in math and English, while male students who
earned A in the same subjects were 139 (1.8%). Despite the impact of high-stakes testing, the
validity of Puntland’s centralized test measuring what it intends to measure remains a concern.
There is an implication for school officials, policymakers, and education reformers to rethink and
evaluate whether the centralized exam instruments are valid and reliable for what they intended to
produce.
Keywords: Puntland secondary schools, Puntland centralized testing, Somalia education