ABSTRACT
This study examined the effect of continuous assessment on academic performance of students in tertiary institution of delta state polytechnic. The study adopted a descriptive survey research that utilized an ex-post facto design to collect data students in tertiary institution of delta state polytechnic. Four hypotheses were tested for and analysed using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation and t-test for independent samples analysis tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The result of the analysis showed that there were positive significant relationship between continuous assessment and academic performance in delta state polytechnic lecturers should ensure effective implementation and practice of continuous assessment to improve on students' performance. Parents and the students should also respond positively to the feedback given by continuous assessment to enhance its remediation as well as teacher dwelling on its outcome to adjust the teaching and learning process. The government should also improve on the conditions of teaching and learning in the public secondary schools.
CHAPTER ONE
- INTRODUCTION
Continuous Assessment is the educational policy in which students are examined continuously over most of the duration of their education, the results of which are taken into account after leaving school. It is often proposed or used as an alternative to a final examination system.
When studying for a diploma course in delta state polytechnic, you will be assessed completely by continuous assessment.
Failing that there is also the academic approach. It is really easy to cram for exams - and many people do this. The problem is that after you’ve actually sat the exam, you pretty much forget everything that you crammed in. Exams are necessary but are fundamentally flawed. They only capture a student’s ability at a snapshot in time. It doesn’t take into account that student’s overall performance such as taking part in discussions, assignments and more.
The delta state polytechnic require you to had in several items each week which are usually marked before you begin the next week. You need to consistently do well over the course of each week of the module in order to get a high grade. This makes it far more challenging as the only way to do well here is to keep a high standard of work throughout the entire diploma programme.
The dissertation is handled a bit different and is graded separately by your advisor and then by a second assessor. Only once they have been marked separately are the grades awarded compared. If the grades are more than one grade apart, the assessors need to get together to determine a compromise. Even once this is done, all your grades and results go to a polytechnic Board of Examiners for final approval and confirmation.
Continuous assessment also looks at the student’s overall capabilities - each assignment has original content and is graded by an expert in the field. This means that you constantly demonstrate your level of knowledge and this is something that an exam simply cannot accomplish. Each discussion post reply is also read and graded. This provides a very rich and accurate view of the level of the student.
In short, with continuous assessment it is very hard to do well unless you put in consistently high quality work. If you’re the sort of person who does that, you will find that this will work very well for you. If instead you don’t do much all year and then cram for the exams then you will have a challenged ahead of you.
In my opinion continuous assessment is a very better way to judge a student’s level of knowledge, skill and expertise. That’s not to say the traditional examination should never be used - but I do think that continuous assessment provides superior results.
1.2 FEATURES OF THE STUDY
- It is comprehensive
- It is cumulative
- It is diagnostic
- Continuous assessment is formative
- It is guidance-oriented
- It is systematic in nature
1.3 ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY
Continuous assessment can provide early indicators of the likely performance of students, something that can be of great help to the students themselves - as for they have some mistake in your Marks then you would be transfer the marks. And the other hand its use to both students and the faculty. It can also provide to the exactly what has been learned by a particular stage of the course.
Formative assessment covers the range of informal diagnostic tests a teacher can use to assist the process of learning by his students. Prescriptive but ungraded feedback enables students to reflect on what they are learning and why. The goal is to improve performance and achieve successful outcomes. Robert Stake, Director of the Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation, likens formative assessment to a cook tasting a soup before serving it to a guest. But despite its advantages, formative assessment can be time-consuming, and incentives in the school system tend to favor more objective assessments. 1. Continuous Improvement o One great advantage of formative assessment for learning is that it is ongoing. This allows for incremental feedback to identify problems at their earliest stages. For example, a student can correct conceptual errors before undertaking work on a term paper. As that student works on the term paper, input from the teacher can inform, guide and validate each step of the writing process. Honesty o Cheating and plagiarism remain significant problems in academic settings. A study on academic dishonesty published in the Electronic Journal of Sociology in 2003 found that 83 percent of the students surveyed admitted to cheating more than once. Compared to graded summative assessments like final exams, ungraded formative assessments reduce the temptation to cheat. This allows students to focus on learning instead of grades. Labor Intensive o Although offering many benefits, effective formative assessment can be difficult to achieve at scale. It may be logistically impossible to provide detailed descriptive feedback for each student in a large class. Even with a smaller number of students to deal with, formative assessment is time-consuming as it requires significant, ongoing dedication and effort from the teacher to sustain. This is especially true when combined with the summative assessments teachers are required to complete. Accountability o The layered accountability chain in education—student to teacher, teacher to school, school to district, etc. -- creates systemic pressure for student performance to be objectively and comparatively measurable at each level. Formative assessment, by definition, doesn't easily provide that kind of accountability. This explains why, although the advantages of formative assessment have been repeatedly articulated since the distinction between it and summative assessment was first made in 1967, empirical studies continue to show that very few teachers consistently make use of it in actual practice.
1.4 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The research work is designed to investigate the attitude and competence of students in delta state polytechnic.
This study will examine the problem of the implementation of the continuous assessment encountered by lecturers of the polytechnic and offer useful suggestions to relevant authorities
1.5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is out lined below, this researcher wants to find
1. the factor affecting the implementation of continuous assessment in selected polytechnic.
2. if the school lecturers are adequately equipped to participate actively in the implementation of the continuous assessment programme of the state government
3. lecturers know the difference between continuous assessment and the traditional system of testing students
1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. how do lecturers perceive continuous assessment
2. what amount of competence is asserted by the lecturers on the successful implementation of continuous assessment
3. would the lecturers prefer continuous assessment to the old system of testing in the classroom
4. do the school provide enough facility for the lecturers implementations
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
Education development sustains the growth of the entire nation. We need adequate assessment method that would show exactly what on wishes to know about the individual. This explain why lecturers attitude and competence in implementing continuous assessment is a necessity for all lecturers in the new educational system in Nigeria
This work will equip the classroom lecturers to implement the continuous assessment in their various schools it will direct and inform teachers on area of the behaviour of the children to adopt in achieving these purpose
Lecturers also see continuous assessment as an acceptable and beneficial development in the evaluation of their input and student performance. This also enables the teachers to periodically assess his work and get motivation for greater action for progress especially when outcomes are positive
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following term are define as used in the study in order to avoid Mis -interpretation by different individuals
CONTINOUS ASSESSMENT: This is a method of ascertaining what a pupils gains from school in terms of knowledge, industry and character development, taking into account all his her performance in test assessment, project and other educational activities during a given period which an education is to determined
IMPLEMENTATION: The act of process of putting into effect some operations, plans, polices or idea is know as implementation
COMPETENCE: This has to do with efficiency, the ability to be skillful, knowledgeable and to be effective in performing given tasks. It implies the possession of specialized skills active performance in specialized area like teaching field
COGNITIVE DOMAIN: A behavioral objective of remembering of something which had been learned
PSYCHOMOTOR DOMAIN: The psychomotor domain deals with manipulative skills and body movement.
AFFECTIVE DOMAIN: it has to do with values and beliefs, attitudes and appreciation interest social relation, emotional adjustment and life style.
6-3-3-4: the new system of education in Nigeria as spent out by the 1981 national policy on education broken down thus
6 - Years Primary Education
3 – Years Junior Secondary Education
3 – Years Senior Secondary Education
4 – Years Tertiary or Post Secondary Education
The basis assumption in respect of this work is as followed
1. There is no student preference for any method of assessment
2. continuous assessment is not very adopted in school in local government area under study
3. most lecturers do not know when, who and why continuous assessment is being used recommended in schools
4. most lecturers have the motion that continuous assessment of students work is a difficult task due to regular administrative scoring and record of task
5. that so many especially the old breed in the profession do not understand the whole concept of continuous assessment
1.9 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
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