GradeUp

The Challenge

Students attending secondary schools throughout Nigeria who prepare for national examinations including WAEC, NECO and UTME encounter several obstacles. Most students find conventional learning approaches such as textbook reading to be uninteresting and challenging to grasp especially when dealing with challenging topics in Biology and Physics. Students face performance-related social expectations which damage their self-assurance to the point that they become less interested in learning. Students show wide-ranging differences in their study habits combined with personal device availability and motivation levels because they include both achievement-oriented students who want challenging material and students who avoid studying entirely.

Students need a method to practice exam questions which adjusts to their learning speed while keeping them engaged and reducing anxiety to build academic confidence with no compromise on academic standards.

How I started

After the initial documentation was passed to me, I met with the Product team and product owner to understand the goals and to brainstorm viable ideas for the product. I also met with the Curriculum team to gather further requirements for the assessment feature.

Research

To better understand the target users, I conducted secondary research starting with a few key questions: Who are they? What are their goals? What motivates them? Through reviewing existing studies and reports, I gathered insights that helped paint a clearer picture of Nigerian secondary school students preparing for exams. This research revealed their diverse backgrounds, varying motivations, and the unique challenges they face — from limited resources and exam anxiety to a strong preference for engaging, gamified learning experiences that fit their lifestyle and environment.

I reviewed a range of existing research—including academic studies, government reports, and educational analyses—to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges students face.