Evaluation of the Implementation of Continuous Assessment Practices Among Mathematics Teachers in Senior Secondary Schools in Chanchaga Local Government, Niger State, Nigeria

Dr. Joseph John Mawak (Ph.D.)¹*, Komolafe Olorunleke²

¹Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Jos.

Email: Mawakjoseph74@gmail.com

²Government Girls Day Science College Minna, Niger State.

Email: olorunleke1000@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION 

Assessment is a process that enable teachers to obtain information about knowledge gains, behavioural changes and other aspects of the development of learners. It involves the deliberate effort of the teacher to measure the effects of instructional process as well as the overall effect of school learning on the behaviour of students. Assessment is an integral component of the educational system. It helps in determining the extent of students' mastery or competence over a body of knowledge and skills in a subject (Airasian 2006). It  is a process which deliberately allows for periodic assessment of the student throughout a course and takes into account systematic way of their whole performance during a given period of schooling and progress towards the goal as well as success in attaining the goal of the teacher (Monigho, 2017). It involves a formal assessment of learners’ progress so as to identify areas of strength and weaknesses. It helps learners’ to demonstrate their commitment to tasks over time, their readiness and their competence in a single or group performance. Continuous assessment is a mode of evaluation and certification of learning outcome that takes into account the learners performances in the area of cognitive, affective and psychomotor domain of educational objectives. It accumulates information obtained in respect of a students with a views of using the information to guide and shape their learning from time to time (Adeleke &Akinsolu 2018). Continuous assessment is a continuum in which the two operational extremes are fully streamed conducted at regular intervals over a term, primarily for summative purposes, generating grades to combine with the scores or scores from a system’s official end-of-year examinations. Continuous assessment generally refers to strategy of grading that suit the level, age and experience of the students between a suitable intervals during the school year. Appropriate scheduling prevents learners from being excessively tested or exhausted by numerous assessments. Continuous assessment is a comprehensive procedure that takes into account the learner's emotional and sensorimotor domains, as well as his or her cognitive ability (Ali, 2016).

Continuous assessment combine the total at the end to provide a cumulative or final score. It is the process of evaluation where the results from various instruments and techniques like tests, projects, rating scales, checklists, observation, interviews, and other conceivable strategies are used to determine learners' accomplishment in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains from the time they begin learning to the end. Ali & Kalu (2016) stated that Continuous assessment is often used in conjunction with other assessment tools such as tests, quizzes, and projects. Teachers collect data on student performance throughout the course of the semester or year, and use this information to adjust their instructional strategies to better meet the needs of their students. Evidences shows that continuous assessment is implemented haphazardly in school by teachers despite the laid down procedure for conducting it.

Implementation is the execution or practice of a plan, design, idea, model, specification, or policy for doing something. As such, implementation is the action that must follow any preliminary thinking for something to actually happen. It is about putting a plan into action. In line with the national policy on education (2013), the practical task of implementing the curriculum at the school level requires continuous assessment as part of the curriculum in general and the instructional process in particular. It is a continuous process that includes a set of events designed to put a program into practice. It is a process of turning formal plans that will affect many into reality (Patrick & Abel, 2018). 

The Practice of Continuous assessment in the National Policy of Education (N.P.E 2013) is that assessment of the pupils/students should be done on continuous basis and not just at the end of the year. The Policy states that advancement from one class to another shall be based on continuous assessment. The primary school leaving certificate shall be based only on continuous assessment and shall be issued locally by the head teacher of the school. The junior school certificate (JSC) shall be based on continuous assessment and examination conducted by state and federal examinations body. The Senior School Certificate (SSC) shall be based on continuous assessment and a national examination (N.P.E 2013). In all the primary and secondary schools, continuous assessment account for 30% of a student's performance on each subject, while higher institutions allow 40% and universities allow 40% in-course assessment (Omeba, 2014). Okonkwo, (2018)  found that assessment practices   as commonly used among Public and private school teachers in senior secondary schools, such as test, assignment, project, examination and portfolio. Some teachers made use of 2 test such as welcome test and mid-term test examination at the end of term.  

According to Falaye and Lawal (2021) Assessment practices by teachers also involves evaluating each students work and providing feedback. It helps students to develop skills in collaboration with each other. There are numerous ways that teachers may carry out continuous assessment practice in schools, as it may vary depending on the subject and grade level. Some common methods of continuous assessment practice that teachers may use include tests, projects, assignment among others. experience shows that some teachers hardly adhere to assessment practice in schools while some give one test, some use both test, assignment and examination, some even give test after examination which is not what National Policy on Education (NPE) recommended for the teachers in senior secondary schools. It has been observed by Okonkwo (2018) that the commonly used method of continuous assessment  among Public and private school teachers in senior secondary schools include test, assignment, project, examination and portfolio. Onochie & Orgoma, (2018) found that in private school teachers used one test, one assignment and one project. Some use two test and portfolio. In rural schools it has been found that the teachers use one test and one assignment which is not the practice as suggested by low. 

Literature have shown that teachers are not properly implementing continuous assessment in Niger State. According to Ali (2021) the rate at which teachers’ implement CA practices in Niger State is far below average. The statistics shown that 30% of public school teachers had the knowledge of CA but, only 28% implement CA. In private school 50% of the teachers had the knowledge of CA practice but, only 42% implement CA. Another research conduct by Falaye & Lawal (2021) in Niger State showed that, in rural schools 25% of the teachers had the knowledge of CA but, only 17% implement CA, while in urban schools, 28% of the teachers had the knowledge of CA but, only 20% implement CA.

The reason for the low rate of implementation of CA in secondary schools in Niger State could be as a result of lack of teachers motivation, lack of teachers qualifications, teachers laziness, teachers attitude, lack of competency, large class size, teachers work load among others. Efforts have been made to improve teachers’ implementation of CA in schools and such include training and retraining of teachers, in-service training, seminar, and workshop among others on how to implement CA but yet, there is no uniformity in the implement of CA.    

Osadebe (2015) found that male teachers are more likely to use traditional assessment methods, such as examination and quizzes, while female teachers are more inclined to incorporate alternative assessment strategies, such as project-based assessments and portfolios. Understanding these differences can help school administrators tailor professional development opportunities and support for teachers to effectively implement continuous assessment practices in their mathematics classrooms. Akeju (2019) found that gender has a significant influence on the implementation of continuous assessment practice among mathematics teachers. Ahmed (2019) found a statistically significant differences in the implementation of continuous assessment practices based on gender.

School types can also influence the implementation of continuous assessment practices. For example, Ahmed (2018) reported that private schools may have more resources and support for implementing innovative assessment practices, while public schools may face budget constraints and other challenges. School administrators can work to create a supportive environment for continuous assessment by providing teachers with training, resources, and ongoing feedback to help them integrate these practices into their mathematics instruction.

School location can impact on the implementation of continuous assessment practices. Urban schools may have more access to technology and professional development opportunities, while rural schools may face challenges such as limited internet connectivity or professional development opportunities. Implementing continuous assessment practices among mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools requires a thoughtful and tailored approach that takes into consideration key issues Oyelami and Ogunleye (2021) found that there is a significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment practices among rural and urban mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools in North Central Nigeria. Osadebe (2015) reveal that there was no difference between rural and urban school teachers on the practice of continuous assessment in line with national policy in Nigeria. (Osadebe, 2015).

Efforts have been made to improve continuous assessment practices among teachers in schools and such include training and retraining of teachers, in-service training, seminar, work shop among others on how to implement CA but yet, there is no uniformity in the implement of CA. Proper implementation of CA in senior secondary schools, will help teachers to assess students in cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. To this end, there is the need to improve the implementation of continuous assessment practice among mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools in Niger State. The researcher is not aware of any current efforts aim at assessing the implementation of assessment practices among mathematics teachers in the study area. Hence the need to conduct the present study on evaluation of the implementation of continuous assessment practices among the mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government, Niger State

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study is to assess the implementation of continuous assessment practices   among mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government, Niger State. The specific objectives are to:

1.   assess the implementation of Continuous Assessment practices among male and female Mathematics teachers’ in senior secondary school in Chanchaga Local Government.

2.   assess the implementation of Continuous Assessment practices    among private and public schools Mathematics teachers’ in senior secondary school in Chanchaga Local Government.

3.   ascertain the implementation of Continuous Assessment practices   among urban and rural schools Mathematics teachers’ in senior secondary school in Chanchaga Local Government.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were raised to guide the study:

1.   What is the level of the implementation of continuous assessment among Mathematic teachers’?

2.   What is the level of implementation of continuous assessment practices   among private and public schools Mathematics teachers’?

3.   What is the level of implementation of continuous assessment practices   among urban and rural Mathematics teachers’?

The following hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance:

1.   There is no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment between male and female mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government.

2.   There is no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment between private and public schools mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government.

3.   There is no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment mean between urban and rural schools mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional survey research design was used in conducting this study. A cross-sectional survey recognizes that the situation being studied might change later on and a different result might be obtained at a later period (Awotunde & Ugodoluwa, 2004). This design was chosen because there was no manipulation of any condition rather, subjects were investigated in a more or less natural environment. scriven evaluation 1972 model was used as a theoretical basis of the evaluation.  The population of the study consisted of 152 mathematics teachers in senior secondary school in Chanchaga LG Niger State.  The population of 152 mathematics teachers were used as sample. The instrument that was used for data collection was the researcher designed questionnaire titled Implementation of Assessments Practices among Teachers (IAPT) with a modified four point likert s scale. The face and content validity of the instrument was carried out by 2 experts from the field of Research, Measurement and Evaluation in Faculty of Education, University of Jos. 

The validity and reliability of the instrument were established. Using Cronbach Alpha, the reliability of instrument was 0.786. The descriptive statistics of simple percentage was used to answer all the research questions. The Independent sample t-test was used to test the three hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.

RESULTS

Research Questions One:

What is the level of the implementation of continuous assessment among male and female Mathematic teachers’ in Chanchaga Local Government?

Table 1: Show the Mean Response on the Implementation of Continuous Assessment Among Male and Female Mathematic Teachers.

The results of the analysis from table 3 indicate that items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were accepted by male teachers while items 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 13, 15, and 16 were accepted by female teachers because the items had mean above the assume mean of 2.50 While, items 6, 7, 8, and 13 were rejected by male teachers and items 5, 7, 11 and 17 were rejected by female teachers because the items had mean below the criteria mean of 2.500. The average mean is 2.628 with SD of .945, among the male teachers and average mean is 2.64 with SD of .972 among the female teachers. Howevr, Out of 17 items, 13 items were accepted to be practiced by the teachers and 4 items were rejected because they were not practiced by male teachers, this implies that 76.5% of the C. A practices are implemented by male mathematics teachers while 23.5% of them are not implemented. for the female teachers, Out of  17 items, 13 items were accepted to be practiced by the teachers and 4 items were found  not to be practiced by female teachers, this implies that 76.5% of the C. A practices were implemented by female mathematics teachers while 23.5% of them are not implemented. It can be conclude that, there is a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among the mathematics teachers based on gender in the study area.

Research Questions Two: What is the level of the implementation of continuous assessment among private and public schools in Chanchaga Local Government? 

Table 4: Show the Mean Responses of Respondents on the Implementation of Continuous Assessment among Mathematic Teachers Based on Schools Types

The results of the analysis from table 4 indicate that items 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were accepted by private school teachers while items 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were accepted by public school teachers because the items had mean above the criteria mean of 2.500. While, items 5, 6, 7, and 8, were rejected by private school teachers and items 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13 were rejected by public school teachers because the items had mean below the criteria mean of 2.500. The average mean is 2.63 with SD of 0.95, among the private school teachers and average mean is 2.51 with SD of 0.972, among the public school teachers. Out of 17 items, 13 items were said to be practices and 4 items were rejected by private school teachers, this implies that 76.5% of the C. A practices were implemented by private school mathematics teachers while 23.5% of them are not implemented. For the public school teachers, Out of  17 items, 12 items were accepted to be practices and 5 items were rejected by public school teachers, this implies that 70.5% of the C. A practices are implemented by public school mathematics teachers while 29.5% of them are not implemented. It was concluded that, there is a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among mathematics teachers based on school types in the study area.

Research Questions Three:

What is the level of the implementation of continuous assessment among school location in Chanchaga Local Government? 

Table 5: Show the Mean Respondents of the Implementation of Continuous Assessment Among Mathematic Teachers Based on School Location

The results of the analysis from table 5 revealed that items 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were accepted by urban school teachers and items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were accepted by rural school teachers because the items had mean above the assume mean of 2.50. While, items 5, 6, 7, and 8 were rejected by urban school teachers, item 11 was rejected by rural school teachers because the items had mean below the assume mean of 2.500. The average mean is 2.637 with SD of 0.947, among the urban school teachers and average mean is 2.65 with SD of 0.915, among the rural school teachers. Out of 17 items, 13 items were accepted to be practices while 4 items were not practices by urban teachers, this implies that 76.5% of the C. A practices are implemented by urban school mathematics teachers while 23.5% of them were not implemented. For the rural school teachers, Out of 17 items, 16 items were accepted to be practices and only one item was  not practices by rural school teachers, this implies that 94.1% of the C. A practices are implemented by rural school mathematics teachers while 5.9% of them are not implemented. It can be said that, there is a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among the mathematics teachers based on school location in the study area.

Hypotheses One: There is no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment mean scores between male and female mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government.

Table 7: Summary of Independent Samples T-Test Showing Significant Differences among Male and Female Mathematics Teachers

The result of the t-test analysis in table 7 show the responses of respondent based on gender. The result indicate that male had mean of 48.46, S.D of 6.207 while female had mean of 49.35, SD of 6.425. The result indicate t(150 )= -.825, P = .411> 0.05 since the P-value of .411 is higher than the significant level of 0.05 we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that, there is no significant difference in the response mean scores of male and female on the implementation of assessment practices among mathematics teachers in the study.

Hypotheses two:

There is no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment mean scores between private and public schools mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government.

Table 8: Summary of Independent Samples T-Test Showing Significant Differences among Private and Public School Mathematics Teachers.

The result of the t-test analysis in Table 8 shows the responses of respondent based on School types. The result indicates that private school had mean of 48.53, S.D of 6.50 while public school had mean of 49.37, SD of 5.954. The result indicate t(150 )= -.754, P = .452 > 0.05 since the P-value of .452 is higher than the significant level of 0.05 we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that, there is no significant difference in the response mean scores of private school and public school on the implementation of assessment practices among mathematics teachers in the study area.

Hypotheses three:

There is no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment mean scores between urban and rural schools mathematics teachers in Chanchaga Local Government

.

Table 9: Summary of Independent Samples T-Test Showing Significant Differences among Urban and Rural Mathematics Teachers

The result of the t-test analysis in table 9 shows the responses of respondent based on School location. The result indicates that urban school had a mean of 48.58, S.D of 6.160 while rural had a mean of 50.40, SD of 7.014. The result indicate t (138)= - 1.197, P = .233 > 0.05 since the P-value of .233 is higher than the significant level of 0.05 we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that, there is no significant difference in the response mean scores of  urban school and rural school on the implementation of assessment practices among mathematics teachers in the study.

DISCUSSION OF FINDING

The finding of the study revealed that, there is a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among mathematics teachers were 76.5% of male and 75.5% of female respondents agreed that, there is high level of the implementation of continuous assessment practices among the mathematics teachers based on gender in the study area. The finding of these study contradicted those of Adeleke and Akinsolu (2018) who found that continuous assessment practices were not adequately implemented among mathematics teachers, resulting in poor performance of students in mathematics. The finding further contradicted those of Ahmed (2019). Who reported a significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment practice among mathematics teachers in selected senior secondary schools (p<0.05). The implication is that teachers’ gender does not affect the implementation of assessment practices in senior secondary schools in the study area

The finding of the study revealed that, there is a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among mathematics teachers were 76.5% of private school teachers and 70.5% of public school teachers agree to implementation of continuous assessment practices. This result show a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among private and public schools mathematics teachers were the private schools teachers’ implementation level was higher than public schools teachers. These result further agree with the finding of Akeju (2019) who found that, there was a significant difference in the level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among private and public school mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools (p<0.05).

The study indicate a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among the urban and rural schools mathematics teachers were 76.4% of urban school teachers and 94.1% of rural school teachers agree to the implementation of continuous assessment practice. This result show that rural schools mathematics teachers’ implementation level is higher than urban school teachers. The finding is in line with those of Okwnkwo (2018) who found that rural mathematics teachers had a significant influence on the implementation of continuous assessment compared to their urban counterparts.

The findings of this study indicated that there was no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment between male and female mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools in Chanchaga Local Government. The findings of this study contradict those of Onochie and Ogoma (2018) who found a statistically significant difference in the attitudes of male and female mathematics teachers towards the implementation of continuous assessment practices.

The findings of this study revealed that, there was no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment between private and public school mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools in Chanchaga Local Government. These result further contradicted the finding of Onochie and Ogoma (2018) who found that private school mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools demonstrated a higher level of familiarity and awareness of different continuous assessment techniques compared to public school mathematics teachers. The finding revealed that there was no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment practices between urban and rural schools mathematics teachers in senior secondary schools in Chanchaga Local Government. The result is in line with those of Falaye and Lawal (2021) who found no significant difference in the implementation of continuous assessment practices among rural and urban school mathematics teachers. These result further agreed with those of Onochie and Ogoma (2018) who revealed that there is no statistical significant difference between urban and rural school mathematics teachers in their implementation of continuous assessment practice in senior secondary schools. The implication of these findings is that teachers are implementing assessment practices in schools, but more need to be done in the area of quality assessment so as to meet up with the standard set by external examinations for improve performance

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion, there is a high level of implementation of continuous assessment practices among mathematics teachers in the study area. The study concluded that there is no significant difference in implementation of continuous assessment practices among male and female mathematics teachers, private and public schools mathematics teachers, and among urban and rural school mathematics teachers in senior secondary school in Chanchaga Local Government.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the finding of these study, the following recommendation were made:

1.   The study recommended the need for professional development programs that focus on increasing skills in different continuous assessment techniques among public and private school mathematics teachers.

2.   It is recommended that awareness campaigns and sensitization programs be conducted to highlight the benefits and importance of continuous assessment practices among mathematics teachers in Urban schools to improved their teaching effectiveness.

3.   Seminar, re-train and work-shop should be organized by the educational officials and focus on enhancing mathematics teachers’ skills in assessment practices that will covered the three domains of learning, data interpretation, and effective feedback strategies which can improve students performance in mathematics.

REFERENCES

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