NERDC primary curriculum: subjects, CA, exams, and grade bands

How NERDC primary assessment works in School Vault

The NERDC primary framework uses a numeric assessment model. Each student receives scores for:

• CA1 (Continuous Assessment 1), usually a mid-term test or assignment
• CA2 (Continuous Assessment 2), a second in-class assessment
• Exam, the end-of-term examination

These three components add up to 100. The exact weighting is set by your school admin (e.g. CA1 = 15, CA2 = 15, Exam = 70). School Vault enforces that the weights always total 100 and will not allow saving if they do not.

Subjects and subject management

NERDC primary subjects in School Vault are created by your school admin rather than pre-populated, because different Nigerian schools run different subject lists. Common primary subjects include:

• English Language, Mathematics, Basic Science and Technology, Social Studies
• National Values Education (Civic Education, Social Studies, Security Education)
• Cultural and Creative Arts, Christian Religious Studies / Islamic Studies
• Computer Studies, Yoruba / Igbo / Hausa (or relevant mother tongue)
• Physical and Health Education

See article 6.1 for how to create subjects and assign them to teachers.

Entering marks for a subject

1. Go to Mark Entry.
2. Select the class section and the subject you are marking.
3. Select the assessment type: CA1, CA2, or Exam.
4. The class list appears with an input field next to each student's name.
5. Enter each student's score. The field accepts numbers up to the maximum for that component (e.g. if CA1 weight is 20, the field caps at 20).
6. Scores save automatically when you click or tab out of each field. You do not need to click a Save button after every entry.
7. Once all scores are entered, click Publish Scores to make them visible in reports and analytics. Until published, scores are draft only.

How grade bands work

Once all three components are entered, School Vault calculates the total score (CA1 + CA2 + Exam) and maps it to a grade band based on your school's configuration:

These are default ranges. Your admin may have configured different ranges under Settings → Grade Bands.

NERDC and the Learning Journal

The NERDC Primary framework does not use the Learning Journal (which is for early-years narrative assessment). Instead, academic records appear in:

• Subject Analytics, class average, pass rate, highest and lowest scores (article 6.4)
• Report Cards, individual student reports with all subject scores, grades, and class positions (article 6.5)

Common mistakes

• Entering scores that exceed the weight maximum, e.g. entering 25 for a CA1 that is weighted at 20. The platform caps the entry but double-check to be sure.
• Publishing scores before all CA components are entered, a report card generated with missing scores will show blank cells or zeroes.
• Confusing NERDC Early Years with NERDC Primary, they are different frameworks for different age groups. NERDC Primary activates the mark entry and report card system; NERDC Early Years does not.
• Changing grade band configuration after scores are published, existing published grades do not automatically recalculate. Recalculate manually or contact support.