Cracks in support for two Tanzanian rural primary schools with high performance on national exams

•This paper examines how Tanzanian educational quality is impacted by national exam preparation.•It interviews community members at two rural primary school sites with high passing rates on exams.•Community members desire improvements in the structure and content of national exams.•They are discontent with teachers’ exam preparation strategies and behavioral actions.•Recommendations are provided that aim to increase educational quality.

National examinations are the principle method for tracking school quality and selecting students for successive educational levels in Tanzania. A qualitative approach is used to investigate the effects of high-stakes testing at two government primary schools with high passing rates in rural northern Tanzania. Extensive interviews and observations reveal that teachers’ interactions with students including their instruction and management strategies are compromised by national exam preparation. In follow-up interviews, the majority of participants desired changes in the content and structure of national exams and the teaching methods used to prepare students for exams.