Formative Assessment Practices of Mathematics Tutors in Selected Colleges of Education in Ghana

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VIII, Issue I, January 2021 | ISSN 2321–2705

Formative Assessment Practices of Mathematics Tutors in Selected Colleges of Education in Ghana

Emmanuel Adobah
Department Mathematics and ICT, St. Louis College of Education, Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract:- The study focused on assessing formative assessment practices of Mathematics tutors of twelve colleges of education in Ashanti and Bono Region in Ghana. The study adopted Convergent research design to guide the study. A sample of 56 Mathematics tutors was sampled through census study. Questionnaire, interview guide and observation checklist were used to collect data from the participants. Majority used oral test to assess students at the introduction stage, mid-way (developmental stage) and at the conclusion stage of the Mathematics lessons. It was revealed that tutors scored students exercises, presentations, individual tasks and group work during Mathematics lessons. The study therefore recommended that capacity building workshops should be organized for Mathematics tutors to help them do formative assessment well. It was concluded that majority of the respondents used oral test to assess students during lessons and this might due to facts that other forms of assessment may be time consuming for the tutors.

Keywords: Assessment practice, Formative assessment, Convergent, tutor and Mathematics.

I. INTRODUCTION

Formative assessment techniques used by tutors to assess learners in Mathematics hardly caught the attention of the stakeholders in education (Ryan, Whitebook & Cassidy, 2014). Formative assessment techniques normally focused on evaluating what learners know or learnt as well as what they do not know. The use of assessment tools in class may include a written, oral, observation or demonstrations during teaching and learning process. Other alternative forms of assessment instruments such as rubrics, concept maps, portfolios, student journals, self-evaluation and peer or group evaluation are necessary to determine what students actually know and where they are in the learning progression (Birgin, 2011).
Classroom teachers have used various forms of assessment to monitor their student’s mathematical learning and inform their future instruction, gradually, external assessments are being used by policy makers throughout the world to gauge the mathematical knowledge of a country’s students. The importance given to assessment by many patrons make formative assessment a topic of importance to educators (tutors) at many levels (Herman, 2013).

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