A LEARN model for aligning learner-centred education with national assessment systems

This study addresses the critical misalignment between learner-centred education (LCE) pedagogies and national assessment systems, particularly predominant in developing countries, where traditional standardised tests persist despite curricular shifts toward competency-based, inclusive learning and education. Drawing on constructivism philosophy, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and authentic assessment theory, the paper proposes the LEARN model, a conceptual framework designed to bridge this policy-practice gap by redefining national assessments as tools that reflect and support learner-centred principles. The model’s five components (i.e., Learner-Centred Design, Evidence of Competence, Adaptive to Context, Reflective and Feedback-Oriented, and Nationally Relevant and Scalable), prioritise performance-based tasks, contextual flexibility, formative feedback, and equity. Through a conceptual review of the literature, the paper highlights the systemic contradictions undermining LCE reforms, exemplified by cases particularly from Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where high-stakes examinations perpetuate rote learning, despite policy endorsements of learner-centred pedagogies. The LEARN model offers actionable pathways for policymakers, curriculum designers, and educators to align national assessments with LCE goals, ensuring equitable evaluation of higher-order and relevant skills. Implications for teacher training, inclusive education, and national monitoring systems are discussed, positioning the model as a transformative tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4’s vision of quality education. The study concludes with a call for empirical validation of the LEARN conceptual model across diverse contexts to advance global assessment reform.