Junior high school integrated science teachers’ assessment practices in the Bia West district in the Western region of Ghana

Abstract

This study investigated the instructional assessment practices of junior high school integrated science teachers, the pattern, techniques and challenges in Bia West District of the Western region with a view to providing a baseline data on the state of the art of this important aspect of science teaching. A total of 54 science teachers and 250 pupils were drawn from nine circuits consisting of 68 public junior high schools in Bia West District constituted the participants in the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The researcher collected data on certain characters among the randomly selected sample from the target population in the study area. The self – report data obtained by a survey questionnaire revealed that teachers used similar instructional assessment practices regardless of sex, teaching experience, professional qualification, and academic qualification. Teachers reported using collaborative and formative assessment practices most often although the techniques they reported to use did not greatly reflect this. Solutions to their systemic challenges did not reflect the teachers’ claim of using collaborative assessment practices. Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers will benefit from professional development activities that promote reflection and collaboration in addressing their instructional assessment challenges on a practical level. Further research is necessary to look into the influence of teacher beliefs and attitudes on their instructional assessment practices.