Nigeria participated in the UNESCO‐UNICEF Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) project in 1996 and 2003. To the extent that the results were comparable between Nigeria and other African countries, the performance of Nigerian students was the weakest in the continent. A picture of general poor performance was confirmed in a survey in 2007 for the DFID‐funded, UNICEF‐managed Girls’ Education Project (GEP), which used a slight variation of the 2003 MLA test instruments. Despite the fact that the MLA project also aimed to build capacity, no institutional mechanism was set up to monitor learning achievement on a systematic basis. Given the concerns about the quality of learning outcomes, the Federal and State governments need to establish a national assessment system that can provide reliable information on literacy and numeracy trends to guide policy and inform practice in the classroom and in teacher education institutions. Indeed, the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) Roadmap (March 2009) has identified the establishment of “a standardized assessment system that annually monitors and reports academic achievement in the core subjects” as one of its priorities. In this context, this paper outlines, in a preliminary way, the ESSPIN approach to the development of a national assessment system for monitoring learning achievement. The approach will be further developed by the Task Specialist who is currently (May 2009) beginning work. The focus of this paper is on the relatively narrow issue of establishing a national system for summative assessment (‘assessment of learning’) to monitor the relevant EFA learning goal. The broader issue of formative assessment (‘assessment for learning’) is addressed in the position papers on education quality and inspection. No references are made either to the use of assessment for selection and certification (i.e. State examinations, such as the JSCE).