Challenges Affecting the Implementation of Continuous Assessment at the Secondary School Level in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province
Keywords:
Assessment, Continuous Assessment, Evaluation, Achievement Standards, Secondary EducationAbstract
Continuous Assessment (CA) has been introduced as part of the examination and assessment innovation in the Zimbabwean education system. CA is intended to be added onto the traditional assessment, that is, summative assessment in order to improve the assessment and evaluation of pupils’ performance, and ultimately the whole process of teaching, learning and assessment. This change has led to the introduction of standardised CA at secondary level. The qualitative study was to analyse CA practises in secondary schools of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. The study specifically sought to find out the different assessment strategies and their contribution to the pupils. The qualitative methodology and a case study method were employed. Qualitative data was generated through the researcher as a data generating instrument, questionnaires, interviews, Focus Group Discussion documents analysis, and observations. The generated data was analysed through Thematic Content Analysis. The results show that the majority of the teachers in the secondary schools exhibited a high level of incompetence in the use of statistical tools, a skill for which is necessary in presenting the pupils’ performance in a neat and logical manner. The benefit of CA is that, it is guidance oriented since it involves data generating over a long period of time and yields more accurate data for the teacher to modify instruction. The study concludes that the challenges in the implementation of CA included that, some teachers do not possess the required competences for the implementation of CA.
References
. Assessment Framework for Primary and Secondary Education 2015-2022. Harare: MoPSE, n.d.
. MoPSE. (n.d.). Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education 2015-2022. Harare: MoPSE.
. G. S. Kotze. (2002). "Issues Related to Adapting Assessment Practices". South African Journal of Education. [Online]. Vol. 22(1): pp 76-80. Available: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/view/24902 [Apr. 08, 2022]
. R. G. Sisimayi and A. P. Makanda. (2015). Curriculum Framework for Primary and Secondary Education. Harare: MoPSE.
. MoPSE. (n.d.). Curriculum Review Process Narrative Report 2014-2015. Harare: MoPSE.
. Stufflebean, G. F. (2000). Evaluation Models : Viewpoints on Educational and Human Services Evaluation . Boston: M A Kluwer 14. M. Birhanu. "Teacher's Assessment of Students' Performance in Selected High Schools of Arsi Zone with Emphasis on Continuous Assessment". M A Thesis, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 2004.
. S. I. Donaldson. (2007). Program Theory-Driven Evaluation . New York : Lawrence Erlbaum .
. P. J. Rogers. (2000). "Program Theory Evaluation: Not Whether Programs Work But How They Work", in Evaluation Models. D. L. Stufflebeam, G. F. Madaus and T. Kellaghan, Ed. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000, pp. 209-232.
. P. J. Rogers, A. Petrosino, T. A. Hueber and T. A. Hacsi. (2000). "Program Theory Evaluation: Practice, Promise and Problems". New Directions in Evaluation,[Online]. Vol. 2000(87), pp 5-13. Available: doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1177 [Jul. 16, 2021
. M. W. Lipsey and D. S. Cordray. (2000). "Evaluation Methods for Social Intervention". Annual Review Psychology, [Online]. Vol. 2000 (51), pp 345-375. Available: doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.345. [Feb. 3, 2020]
. W. K. Hoy, K. S. Beard and A. W. Hoy. (n.d.). "Academic Optimism of Individual Teachers: Confirming a New Construct". Internet: https://waynekhoy.com/pdfs/Teacher_Academic_Optimism_Measure.pdf [Aug. 28, 2021]
. A. Neaves. (2021). The Nuremberg Trial. Northern Ireland: Biteback Publishing.
. J. du Plessis. (2003). Continuous Assessment: A Practical Guide for Teachers. Washington DC: Improving Educational Quality Project.
. M. Birhanu. (2013, Nov.). "Continuous Assessment Issues and Practices in Secondary Schools of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia: the Big Picture of of Assessment Mechanism". Palgo Journal of Education Research.[Online]. Available: https://www.palgojournals.org [Mar. 12, 2022]
. W. M. Kapambwe. (2006). "The Implementation of School Based Continuous Assessment (CA) in Zambia". Educational Research and Reviews,[Online]. Vol. 5(3), pp 99-107. Available: https://www.academicjournals.org/ [Aug. 28, 2021]
. T. Kupfumira. "Continuous Assessment Framework Zimbabwe School Examionation Council". MoPSE Curriculum Review Workshop, Harare, 2017
. L. A. Makhonta. (2003). "The State of Continuous Assessment Practices in Secondary Schools of Oromia Special Zone: Challenges and Prospects". Available: http://213.55.95.56/bitstream/handle/123456789/27705/Tesfa.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y [Feb. 3, 2020]
. Handbook for School Development Committees. Harare: MoPSE, 2010
. V. Greaney and T. Kellagham. (2004). "Assessing Student Learning in Africa." World Bank Group. Internet: https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/epdf/10.1596/0-8213-5849-9 [Jun. 23, 2021]
. MoPSE. (2016). Report on the Baseline Survey and Training Needs Assessment on Strengthening Educational Leadership in Secondary and Non-Formal Education. Harare: MoPSE
. Derebssa Dufera Serbessa. (2006). "Tension Traditional and Modern Teaching Learning Approach in Ethopia Primary Schools". CICE Horoshima University, Journal of International Conception in Education. [Online] Vol. 9(1), pp 123-140. Available: https://cice.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/9-1-10.pdf [Jan. 14, 2021]
. N. Pacaol. (2021). "Teacher’s Workload Intensification: A Qualitative Case Study of its Implications on Teaching Quality". International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), [Online]. Vol. 8(1), pp 43-60. Available: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1286549.pdf [May. 17, 2023]
. K. Ballet and G. Kelchtermans (2009, Nov.). "Struggling with Workload: Teachers' Experiences of Intensification ". Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, Vol. 25 (8), p 1150-1157.
. Takele Amenu. "The State of Continuous Assessment Practices in Secondary Schools of Oromia Special Zone: Challenges and Prospects". M. A. Thesis, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 2012. [Online]. Available: http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/9824 [Nov. 04, 2021]
. R. J. Stiggins. (2008). "Assessment Manifesto: A Call for the Development of Balanced Assessment Systems". Internet: https://famemichigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Stiggins-Assessment-Manifesto-A-Call-for-the-Development-of-Balanced-Assessment-Systems.pdf [Apr. 14, 2020]
. H. Andrade and A. Valtcheva. “Promoting Learning and Achievement Through Self-Assessment”. Theory into Practice, Vol. 48(1), pp12-19,Oct.2009
. Government of Zimbabwe. "Education Act: Chapter 25:4", 2006
. W. M. Kapambwe. "A Formative Evaluation of the Implementation of the Continuous Asessment Pilot Programme (CAPP) at the Basic School Level in Zambia". M. A. Thesis. University College Dublin, Dublin, 2010
. C. Hart. (2001). Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for Social Science. London: SAGE.
. C. A. Mertler. (2000). Teacher Centred Fallacies of Classroom Assessment Validity and Reliability. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 13(4), 29-35. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ620452
. A. Karlsson and P. Torlind. (2016). "Mitigating Lack of Knowledge: a Study of Ideas in Innovative Projects". International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, [Online]. Vol. 4(3), pp 1-18. Available: doi:10.1080/21650349.2014.961553 [Aug. 23, 2022
. P. Okwelle. (2020). "Continuous Assessment in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges". Available: https://www.academia.edu/12209138/CONTINUOUS_ASSESSMENT_IN_NIGERIA_ISSUES_AND_CHALLENGES [May. 17, 2023]
. D. Leat and A. Nichols. (2000, Mar.). "Brains on the Table: Diagnostic and Formative Assessment Through Observation". Assessment in Education, [Online]. Vol. 7(1), pp 103-121. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/713613327 [Feb. 3, 2020]
. Elizabeth (Betsy) A. Baker and Mary S. Rozendal. (2019, Spring). "Cognitive-based Rubrics."JSTOR . [Online]. Vol. 46 (2), pp 58-80. Available: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26746034 [Jan. 15, 2022].
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 International Journal of Social Sciences: Current and Future Research Trends
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who submit papers with this journal agree to the following terms.