ERIC Number: EJ1408978
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2634-4629
Examining Classroom Assessment Practices of Secondary School Teachers in Shiwang'andu District, Muchinga Province, Zambia
Justine Miyoba; Daniel L. Mpolomoka; Christine Mushibwe; Liwakala Muyoba; Charity Meki Kombe; Colious Gondwe
Journal of Practical Studies in Education, v4 n6 p1-14 2023
The purpose of the study was to investigate the classroom assessment practices of secondary school teachers in Shiwang'andu District, Muchinga Province, Zambia. The objectives were to: describe the assessments that were being used by teachers in sampled schools; determine teachers' use of classroom assessment results; as well as establish viewpoints of teachers about classroom assessments. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and targeted 62 respondents from 10 selected secondary schools including the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) office. Simple random sampling was used to sample the teachers, while the Heads of Department and Head teachers were selected conveniently. Purposive sampling was used to sample the District Education Standards Officer (DESO) and the District Resource Centre Coordinator (DRCC). Questionnaires and key informant interviews were used as data collection tools with descriptive statistics and narrative analysis used as data analysis methods for quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The study established that there were more secondary school teachers that use traditional assessments (71%) as compared to those that use contemporary assessments (29%) in sampled schools. Additionally, most respondents (42%) said that they used classroom assessment results to point out the difficult learning areas, identifying what pupils think and how they think and what they understand. 34% of the respondents use classroom assessment results to diagnose the effectiveness and drawbacks of teaching methods. 24% of the respondents indicated that they use classroom assessment results to make decisions regarding pupils' grade retention and promotion. The results also indicate that the majority of the respondents (48%) were of the view that pupils should only recognize rather than generalize their own answers in classroom assessment tasks and the teacher should only evaluate the pupils based on mastery of skills and knowledge. 29% of the respondents indicated that pupils must be assessed in diverse modes and the teacher must give assessments that match with pupils' development level. 23% of the respondents said that pupils must be assessed beyond classroom environment and the teacher to give assessments that promote higher learning skills and problem solving. The Zambian Ministry of General Education and school administrators in Shiwangandu District should ensure that all teachers with teaching certificates go for further training and take more courses in assessment to improve their skills and use of up-to-date desirable classroom assessment practices.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Secondary School Teachers, Secondary School Students, Evaluation Methods, Standards, Administrator Attitudes, School Surveys, Teacher Attitudes, Department Heads, Student Evaluation, Teaching Methods, Decision Making, Grade Repetition, Social Promotion, Mastery Learning, Student Diversity, Academic Ability, Problem Solving, Thinking Skills, Faculty Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Zambia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A