Evaluation of Students' Learning Outcomes IV: The Use of Continuous Assessment
Contributor Name:
Sudakshina Mallick
Assessment is the only practical and veritable means of gauging students’ learning outcomes. The author discusses continuous assessment and its evolution in Africa, with a specific focus on its introduction in the Nigerian education system.
The author discusses the advantages of continuous assessment and problems associated with its effective use. Continuous assessment demands adequate conceptualization and increases the workload of teachers. Not all teachers have sufficient knowledge and expertise to administer continuous assessment and it is prone to abuse and error of judgment. In terms of benefits, continuous assessment:
- Is less stressful to students;
- Does not summarily penalize them;
- Affords students the opportunity to recognize their performance level;
- Serves as a measure that forces students to sit up for serious academic and non-academic activities;
- Has the potential to reduce the amount of memorization that students employ during final examination.