International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VII, Issue I, January 2020 | ISSN 2321–2705

Influence of Continuous Assessment on Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Biology in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Dr Dorcas Oluremi FAREO
Department of Educational Foundations, Adamawa State University, Mubi, Nigeria

Abstract: – This study examined the influence of continuous assessment on academic performance of secondary school students in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The population of the students was all teachers in public secondary schools in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, out of which a sample size of two hundred was drawn through stratified sampling technique. The research instrument for data collection was adopted from Falaye and Adefioye (2016). The validity of the instrument titled Perception of Teachers on Influence of Continuous Assessment on Academic Performance of Senior Secondary School Students Questionnaire was carried out by an expert in Counselling Department, while t-test reliability method was used to carry out the reliability of the instrument, and the reliability co-efficient was 0.76. Data were analyzed using mean, Pearson moment correlation coefficient and t-test statistics. Continuous assessments were frequently administered in senior secondary schools in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State. There was a significant relationship between continuous assessment scores and academic performance of students in Biology. There was no significant difference between the perception of male and female teachers on attitude of students towards continuous assessment. There was no significant difference between continuous assessment scores of male and female students. It was concluded that the continuous assessment had critical impact on academic performance of secondary school students in Biology. It was recommended that teachers who are well versed in evaluation and assessment techniques should be encouraged and their expertise should be utilized for the said purpose.

Keywords: Continuous assessment; instructional process; evaluation; behavioural change; and feedback.

I. INTRODUCTION

Assessment of learning is not one time movement, it is a progressing process. It includes the procedure of checking on, reflecting and modifying the learning techniques in an arranged and cautious way. When assessment is carried out in classroom in an ongoing or continual way by the teacher, it is called continuous assessment (Samiullah & Anjum, 2017).