Benefits and Challenges of Continuous Assessment Practices in Wollega University as Perceived by Teachers and Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20372/star.v8i3.03Keywords:
conception, students’ learning, benefits of C.A, Challenges of C.A.Abstract
In line with the introduction of a competency-based modular approach to teaching and learning in public universities in Ethiopia, continuous assessment (C.A.) as a prime mode of assessing students’ learning achievement has been in place since 2013. The aim of this study was to analyse the conceptions of teachers and students concerning the benefits and challenges of this assessment technique. To put this into effect, the study employed a qualitative research methodology in which focus group discussions (FGD) and interviews were used as primary data collection tools and document reviews as secondary data collection tools. Data were collected between February and March 2017 from thirty teachers, one Academic Quality, Testing, and Assessment Directorate Director (the Director), and thirty-two undergraduate students in year II and above. The results of the study indicated that students across all programmes at the university were used to being assessed at least seven times for every course they took, and the types of assessments were found to be similar or uniform across all courses and programmes offered at the university. Likewise, both teachers and students who participated in this study held the conception that the practise of C.A. in the university was deficient in that it had little benefit to the improvement of students’ knowledge and skills as well as to their reading approach. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the way C.A. was assumed to serve and implemented and the way it has been conceived by teachers and students have been found to be parallel, and as a result, this practise has not been serving its intended benefits for the learning of students.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Adaramaja, S. R. (2014) The Use and Principles of Continuous Assessment in the Classroom
Awofala, A. O., & Babajide, V. F. (2013). Examining attitudes towards continuous assessment practises among Nigerian preservice STM teachers Journal of Education and Practise, 4(13), 37–49.
Berg, B., L. (2001). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences (4th ed.) Allyn & Bacon California State University, Long Beach
Birenbaum, M. (2007). Assessment and instruction preferences and their relationship with test anxiety and learning strategies. Higher Education, 53, 749– 768, Springer Science Business Media B.V., DOI 10.1007/sl0734-005-4843-4
Blaikie, N. (2010). Designing social research.
Polity Press.
Boud, D. (1995). Assessment and learning: contradictory or complementary?Assessment for learning in higher education, 35–48
Brown, G. T., Hui, S. K., Flora, W. M., & Kennedy, K.J. (2011).Teachers‘ conceptions of assessment in Chinese contexts: A tripartite model of accountability,improvement, and irrelevance International Journal of Educational Research, 50(5–6), 307–320.
Brown, S. (2004) Assessment for Learning, Learning, and Teaching in Higher Education,Issue1,2004–05, Independent Higher Education Consultant; Visiting Professor at Robert Gordon University (Aberdeen) and at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, UK
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2008). Research methods in education London: Routledge.
Embele, U.M. (2014) Knowledge and Use of Continuous Assessment among Teachers' in Basic Schools of Nursing in Southeast Zone, Nigeria: M.SC Dissertation
Fletcher, R., B., Meyer, L., H., Anderson, H., Johnston, P., & Rees, M. (2012). Faculty and Student Conceptions of Assessment in Higher Education Higher Education, 64 (1), 119–133, Springer, Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41477923, DOI 10.1007/s 10734-0 1 1-9484-1
Flick, U. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research Sage.
Glazer, N. (2014) Formative and Summative Assessment in Large Undergraduate Courses: Why Both? International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 26(2), 276-286.
Hennink, M. M. (2007). International focus group research: A handbook for the health and social sciences Cambridge University Press.
Hernández, R. (2012) Does continuous assessment in higher education support student learning?, Higher Education, 64(4), 489–502.
MacDonald, S., K., Williams, L., M.,
Lazowski, R., A., Horst, S., J., & Barron, K., E. (2014). Faculty Attitudes towards General Education Assessment: A Qualitative Study about Their Motivation Research and Practise in Assessment, 9, Summer 2014
O‘Farrell, C. (n.d.). Enhancing Student Learning through Assessment: A Toolkit Approach Dublin Institute of Technology Ovute, A.O., & Ede, M., O. (2015) Evaluation of continuous assessment practises in higher institutions of learning in Enugu State, Nigeria: International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review,3 (2), 247–254, ISSN: 2347–3215
Pastore, S., & Pentassuglia, M. (2016). Teachers‘ and students‘ conceptions of assessment within the Italian higher education system. Practitioner Research in Higher Education Journal, 10 (1), 109–120.
Race, P., Brown, S., & Smith, B. (2005). 500 Tips on Assessment Routledge Falmer, Abingdon, Oxon, ISBN 0-203-30735-6
Rust, C. (2002). The impact of assessment on student learning: How can the research literature practically help to inform the development of departmental assessment strategies and learner-centred assessment practises? Active learning in higher education, 3(2), 145–158.
Scottish Qualifications Authority. (2008). Guide to Assessment. Glasgow, www.sqa.org.uk
Solomon, A., Ayalew S., & Daniel T. (2011) Academic staff‘s views and practises of modular course delivery: Graduate programme at Addis Ababa University in focus, The Ethiopian Journal of Education, 31 (2), AAU Printing Press, Addis Ababa
Stephenson, J. (1998). The concept of capability and its importance in higher education Capability and quality in higher education, 1–13
Struyven, K., Dochy, F., & Janssens, S. (2005). Students‘ perceptions about evaluation and assessment in higher education: a review, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30 (4),
–347
Wang, X., & Hurley, S. (2012). Assessment as a scholarly activity Faculty perceptions of and willingness to engage in student learning assessment JGE: Journal of General Education, 61(1), 1–15.
Webber, K. L. (2012). The use of learner- centred assessment in US colleges and universities, Research in Higher Education, 53(2), 201-228.
Webber, K. L., & Tschepikow, K. (2011). Learner-Centred Assessment: A Comparison of Faculty Practises in US Colleges and Universities, 1993–2004 Association for Institutional Research (NJ1)
Wilson, M., & Scalise, K. (2006). Assessment to improve learning in higher education: The BEAR Assessment System. Higher Education, 52(4), 635–663.
Yin, R.K. (2011) Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. New York: The Guardian Press
Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practise. Higher Education, 45(4), 477–501.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Journal of Science, Technology and Arts Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
STAR © 2023 Copyright; All rights reserved
