ABSTRACT

This research is on the Effective Utilisation of Continuous Assessment in secondary schools. The National Policy on Education prescribes that students’ progress should be based on continuous assessment plus examination throughout the study in the secondary schools. This has become an integral part of the final certification of students at the secondary school level. However, of all the factors that may contribute to the failure or otherwise of the continuous assessment policy in the educational system, the attitudes of teachers towards its administration has been identified as the most critical. Hence, the study set out to investigate the attitude of teachers towards continous assessment in selected secondary schools in Ijebu North Local Government of Ogun State. Meanwhile, the descriptive research design technique was used and simple tabulation, percentage analysis as well as t test statistics were used to analyse the research data. Also, the researcher used the self administered questionnaire as the major instrument while the conventional survey research was the method adopted. At the end, the researcher was able to conclude that male and female. Low and high experience, junior and senior teachers in the local government have a positive attitudinal disposition towards the use of continuous assessment in secondary school. It is therefore recommended that eorts should be made that assessment of the students is made continuous to enable them perform better academically.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

The educative process is an evolving one, so also is the process for assessment of the learning outcomes resulting from it. Assessments in Africa and indeed in Nigeria have developed along the same line of that formalised education. Continuous assessment is not a new experience in the school system in some parts of the country from the time immemorial instructions were given to schools pertaining evidence of continuous assessment, it has usually been insisted upon by supervisors as a pre-condition for government assistance. This gave rise to the fortnightly tests which were conducted and whose results were recorded in report cards the students take home to show their parents. However, there was usually a conspicuous display of the performance of each student on a chart called ‘Progress Chart’ in each classroom. Continuous Assessment provides the necessary feedback we require in order to maximize the outcomes of educational eort. The assessment of learners’ learning provides objective evidence necessary in the decision making process in education. As correctly pointed out by Cone and Foster (1991),’good measurement resulting in accurate data is the foundation of sound decision making’. Education various functions among which, is to bring about modification in the behaviour of the learner in his cognitive, aective and psychomotor domains.

The cognitive domain is the aspect that deals with the amount of knowledge a learner is able to acquire mentally during the course of an instruction. The aective domain is the aspect where the development of the personality lies. Continuous assessment is an important tool for the successful implementation of the policy on education. It is therefore a matter of concern that many teachers do not understand what the concept means, its purpose and how best to practice it in the new education system to achieve the stated objectives of education. Majority of our teachers in our school today do not understand the assessment test mark and analysts of the results. Even when they do give test occasionally, they hardly analyze the scores of their students in order to get the required information there from. It is no exaggeration that some teachers do not even mark the scripts of their students in such tests. It is pertinent to note that some of our teachers because of the ignorance of the meaning and purpose of Continuous Assessment, see it as an introduction capable of wasting their time and materials away Such teachers give tests to their students in order to satisfy the demands of their principals and the inspectors of education, who may breeze into their school at any time.

The effect which Continuous Assessment is capable of producing is not being derived from the exercise because it is not operated in the manner it should be operated in many of our schools. Surely, if the teachers accept the challenges which teaching imposes on them by adapting themselves to the new situation, and if they are desirous of using 20th century technique outcome to teach their children and to assess their teaching outcomes. Comprehensively, they will be able to discover the latest interests of individual learners to function effectively in the scientific and the technological age in which the teachers and learners live. Such tests will allow the teachers and the parents to know the progress their students and children are making respectively. In any organisation, for any innovation to succeed, the attitudes of the workers are very crucial. Therefore, for Continuous Assessment and evaluation system to succeed, teachers must work towards its implementation. Where teachers exhibit positive attitudes, it is to be expected that Continuous Assessment and evaluation will have greater chance of being properly implemented. On the other hand, negative attitude displayed by teachers will aect the implementation of the Continuous Assessment programme in the school setting. Today, in most junior secondary schools, parents in most cases are finding it diicult to instructional materials especially recommended textbooks and writing materials for their children. This in turn, aects the educational achievement of the students and objectives of the secondary education. Hence, this project is focused on the attitude of teachers towards the implementation of the continuous assessment administration in the selected secondary schools in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State.