TEACHERS’ CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

Classroom assessments are meant to evaluate students’ reaction to teachers’ instruction and to measure students’ learning. Classroom assessment allows teachers to intervene in rectifying observed deficiencies in students’ learning. They are formative in nature and speedy as they often consume just a few minutes, are flexible, anonymous for students, and can be positive learning activities measuring writing and critical thinking skills besides enhancing student motivation. This study examines secondary school teachers’ use of alternative classroom assessment strategies in secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria. It employs a survey method using a researcher designed questionnaire. Percentages, t-test, and ANOVA statistics were used for data analyses. Results indicated that teachers had awareness of and used mainly paper/essay, exam/quiz/problem set, and oral assessments. Teachers’ gender, qualification, and experience had no interaction effects on secondary school teachers’ awareness and use of classroom assessment techniques. Based on these findings, suggestions were made for improving teacher education programs to promote alternative assessment strategy use in Nigerian schools.