Influence of Continuous Assessment on Teaching and Learning Process in Secondary Schools in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of continuous assessment on teaching and learning process in secondary schools in Imo State, Nigeria. To achieve the aims of the study, two research questions were asked and two corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the correlation research design. The population of the study is 94,963 students in 296 public senior secondary schools in Imo State. A sample of 398 students was drawn from 15 selected schools through Taro Yamane using simple random sampling technique. Two researcher-made rating scales titled “Continuous Assessment Scale (CAS)” and “Teaching and Learning Process Scale (TLPS)” were used as instruments for data collection. These instruments were validated by three research specialists. Reliability coefficients of 0.81 for CAS and 0.85 for TLPS were obtained using Cronbach Alpha statistics. Research questions were answered using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) while the hypotheses were tested using t-test of the significance of Pearson “r”. The results revealed that continuous assessment has a high, positive and significant coefficient of relationship with students’ learning outcomes and attitude in public senior secondary schools in Imo State. It was concluded that continuous assessment as a crucial tool for enhancing student learning outcomes and attitudes provides regular feedback that informs instruction and motivates students to learn. Based on these results, it was recommended among others that teachers should prioritize regular, well-designed continuous assessments in order to provide actionable feedback to students and inform teaching practices, helping to boost learning outcomes.