Introduction
Education is commonly regarded as a key to success. This means that education has the
ability to change the way human beings think, which is because it makes them more aware of
their surrounding environment. And this can only be possible if the people are accessing
quality education. Thus, teachers, parents, education administrators and other relevant
stakeholders depend on the results from the assessment in order for them to judge if the
quality of education that is being delivered is high or not, the assessments also reflects the
level of understanding of a learner. Therefore, this academic paper seeks to discuss various
assessment techniques which are used to assess the learners in schools. The paper will define
the key terminologies, and then proceed to answer the question in detail, finally a conclusion
will be in the last paragraph.
Definition of key terminologies
According to Angelo (1991), an assessment is a process of evaluating the understanding of
the learners, it measures the knowledge and the skills which the learners have acquired over a
given period of time. Meaning that an assessment gives feedback to the interested people
such as teachers, parents, education administrators and any other interested persons. It tell
them if learning or understanding of concepts which were taught, has been good or poor. This
means that assessment also gives feedback to the learners themselves. That is because it
reflects their levels of understanding on the areas which are assessed. And in order for the
assessment results to be reliable, different techniques are mostly used to assess the same thing
(understanding of the learners). For instance, the learners can be assessed with a question and
answer technique, and later assessed with a class exercise, meanwhile it’s the same questions
which are being phrased in two different techniques.
Furthermore, Saunders (2000) explains that assessments can be classified in two (2) different
forms; firstly, they can be classified as formative assessments. These are assessments which
are done during the teaching and learning process. Meaning that these assessment do not give
a final level of understanding, but they only give the current level of understanding. They are
there to check on the progress which has been made by the learners. In other words,
formative assessments are used as a method of monitoring the level of understanding whilst
teaching and learning still takes places. Just like the name suggests, it informs the progress
which has been made by the learners. Thus, they include assessments such as classroom
exercises, tests and practical exercises. While the second class of assessment are known as
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summative assessments, just like the name suggests, these assessments summarises the
assessment or evaluation progress. They are given at the end of the learning period. For
instance, the final examinations fall under this category of assessment. That is because they
summarise all the areas that need to be evaluated upon. They give a final feedback or report
on the level of understanding. It is from this type of assessment that most decisions are based
on. For instance, the ministry of education uses this type of assessment to decide whether or
not a learner is going to proceed to another grade or level or learning. Meaning that
summative assessments provide the basis for decision making. That is because a decision
appropriately made at the end of any activity.
Advantages and disadvantages of assessment techniques used in schools
(a) Assignments or Homework
According to Saunders (2001), this is the kind of assessment were the learner is given a set of
question or one long question so that they can go and find out the answer(s) to the
question(s). Meaning that the learner is given enough time for research on the correct answers
before they could submit their responses to their teachers. For instance, learners who are
given a homework have enough time to research their answers from different sources such as
books, websites and relatives.
Merits
Firstly, Locke and Sonja (1998) asserts that assignments or homework is good because it
promotes independent learning. Meaning that the learner is given an opportunity to research
on various topics at their free time. It helps the learners to reflect on their answers before they
can finally submit them to their teachers. Thus, the nature of questions which are given as
assignment or home requires the learners to engage in critical thinking before they could
provide an answer. For instance, the learners are mostly given the assignment or homework
questions on the areas which they have not fully learnt in class. This means that the
assignments or homework deepens the understanding of the learners on the areas which they
are answers. That is because before they could come across the precise answer which they
want, they would have read through some information which explains more about the issue
they are trying to address.
Secondly, Abdullah, Nauman and Kent (2006) articulates that assignments and homework are
good because the teachers do not need to allow classroom time for evaluating the learners.
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Instead, the teachers make use of the free time of the learners buy giving them the work
which they will have to do whilst outside their classroom. Thus, the teachers can even use the
time for teaching other topics. Meaning that assignments and homework helps the teachers to
quickly cover the topics that are scheduled to be taught. That is because they tend to have all
the time for teaching, while the evaluation is done after the classes have been concluded. For
instance, instead of the teachers to give a class exercise in order for them to assess the
understanding of the learners, they give them a homework or an assignment, such that
teachers utilise the classroom time for teachers other things, it like killing two (2) birds with
one stone.
Thirdly, Angelo and Cross (1993) explains that assignments and homework are good because
they make learners to feel that they are in control of their own learning. That is because as
they are researching, the learners discover new information on their own. This means that the
learners then come to believe that they can research on any topic which they want without
feeling any restrictions. Hence, assignments and homework helps to develop the spirit of selflearning, the learners don’t need to be told on the areas to research on after they are used with
researching for information on their own. Meaning that the learners can then research on any
topic and is curious to them. Thus, assignments and homework gives the learners a skills of
researching for information without any doubts of the accuracy of the information which they
obtain from their research. For instance, after being used to researching on different
assignments, the learners then can research on areas of their lessons which they find difficult
to understand from the classroom explanations or the lessons which they find to be very
curious. Hence, because of this skill, the learners tend to easily clarify the confusion which
they may have, in relation to their lessons.
Fourthly, Astin (1991) states that assignments and homework are good for assessment
because they can be highly motivating to the learners. That is because after the learners score
highly in their research, they tend to have a boosted morale in their researching skills. They
begin to believe in their ability to research, their confidence levels increases. For instance, if
the learners have been given to research on a topic which they have not yet learnt in class, but
they happen to score high marks after researching, then the confidence of the learners tend to
be boosted. Meaning that the learners can then use this boosted confidence to freely express
themselves in class and across other subjects.
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Fifthly, Jones and John (1993) suggests that assignments and homework are good for
assessing learners because they enhance study and writing skills. That is because the learners
who are actively engaged in assignments and homework are given a challenge of careful
presentation of work. They are taught to logically organise their thoughts through the format
of writing which they get from their schools. For instance, the learners who are given
assignment tasks at tertiary acquire writing skills in order for them to carefully present their
work to their lecturers. Meaning that the learners gain the skill of arranging the concepts
according to their themes or sub-topics. Making it easier for the reader to understand what
they are presenting before them. For instance, learners who write assignment essays gain the
skill of essay writing such that they are able to carefully introduce a topic, present their
findings or arguments and then conclude.
Sixth and lastly, Banta (1996) emphasises that assignments and homework are good for
assessing the learners because they are cross-curricular. Meaning that the skills which
learners gain in one subject can be utilised in another subject. That is because many different
subjects use the same format for presenting the findings on a given task. For instance, a
format that this used to write an assignment in geography won’t be very different from a
format that is used to write an assignment in civic education. And (Banta, 1993) expands that
through assignments and homework, the learners use the gained skill of researching to solve
their real life daily problems. For instance, when the learners finish school and want to start
up a business, they may research on the type of business which they can invest in, using the
researching skills which they gained from school through writing assignments and
homework. For instance, learners can easily utilise the research skills to collect the data,
analyse it and then carefully present it in business documents such as business plans and
many others.
Demerits
Firstly, Banta et al (1988) claims that assignments and homework are not a good assessment
technique because they can easily be cheated upon by the learners. That is because some
learners may give someone else the task of researching instead of them doing the task.
Meaning that the results which are assumed to be theirs are not a true reflection of their level
of understanding. And because the learners do the work at their free time, (Ingram and Janet,
2003) expand that some learners may be copying from one another. That is because the same
answers could be given by several learners, making it difficult to even know the true owner
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of the answers. This is evident when the learners submit the answers that are exactly the
same, word by word. And in some cases, the tertiary learners even forget to change the name
of the friend they were copying from on their cover page.
Secondly, Helliar and Lissa (2004) contends that assignments and homework are not a good
technique of assessing learners because the learners can easily plagiarise other peoples work.
That is because some learners may book left the words from other authors or even from old
assignments or homework which was done by other people and present it as their own
findings and explanation of ideas. Thus, it is difficult for the lecturers or teachers to know if
the ideas that are presented before them are the true explanations of their learners or if they
were just book lifted from other sources.
Thirdly, Gentry and Marlene (1999) argues that assignments and homework are not a good
assignment technique because they are time consuming. That is because the learners need to
be given enough time for researching on the topics or question which they have been given.
For instance, the standard time which is given for learners at tertiary level for one assignment
is usually two (2). Meaning that their lecturers needs to wait for two weeks before they could
receive the feedback. And in some cases, the learners don’t even submit on time, they give
different excuses for not submitting their task on time.
Fourthly, Borden and Banta (1994) notes that assignments and homework are not a good
techniques of assessing the learners. That is because they are very involving, the teachers or
lecturers need to first of all teach the learners how to answer assignments before they could
give them their first assignment. For instance, the lecturers need to clearly explain how to
make the in-text citations and a reference page before the first assignment could be given to
the learners.
Fifth and lastly, Brown and Christopher (1993) explains that assignments are not a good
technique for assessing the learners because they tend to require a lot of resources on the part
of learners. For instance, the learners cannot answer an assignment with just one book, they
need several books in order for them to answer just one assignment question. Meaning that
more researching costs are put on the learners. This means that the more assignment
questions learners attempt, the more new books they will have to buy.
(b) Question and answer or Quiz
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According to Byrd and Yvette (1997), question and answer is an evaluation technique in
which a teacher orally asks a series of question to the learners, and the learners answer those
questions orally, almost immediately after the question has been asked.
Merits
Firstly, Centra (1977) articulates that question and answer is a good assessment technique
because it promotes the interaction between the teacher and the learners. That is because this
technique ensures that there is a two (2) way communication. The teacher asks the questions
the learners respond to those questions, and in some cases, the learners also asks some
questions and the teachers or fellow learners respond to those questions. This means that both
the teachers and the learners can begin to relate well with the use of this technique. Teachers
can gain a better understanding of their learners, and the learners can also easily understand
the character of their teachers.
Secondly, Farooqi and Kent (2004) asserts that question and answer is a good assessment
technique because it can be used at any time. That is because it can be used at the beginning
of the lesson so that the teacher can know the level of knowledge which their learners have
with regard to the new topic, and the teacher may also use this assessment technique during
the lesson so that they can check the progress of understanding of the learners. Meaning that
it also encourages those learners who were not concentrating to start paying attention because
they fail to give a correct response when they are randomly asked a question. And finally, the
teachers can also use this assessment technique at the end of the lesson so that they can judge
on the overall understanding of the concepts which they are just from teaching.
Thus, this Thirdly, Centra (1993) propounds that question and answer is a good assessment
technique because it helps the teachers to understand the weaknesses and misconceptions of
their learners on certain topics. That is because when the learners are asked about some
concepts at the beginning of the lesson, they are going to give their responses according to
their understanding and belief on such concepts. Making it easier for the teachers to identify
the areas when they need to elaborate more. And it also shows the weaknesses of the learners
when they are failing to answer even simple and general questions, more especially if the
questions are being asked after some information has been shared in the classroom. This
means that the teachers can then easily change their method of teaching so that they can try to
be clearer and enhance understanding before the situation gets to be worse. For instance,
when the teachers are explaining on foreign issues and the learners are not understanding the
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concepts, then the teachers can try to change the context into the Zambian issues so that more
understanding could be achieved by the learners.
Fourthly, Ewell (1985) explains that question and answer is a good assessment technique
because it saves time. That is because the questions and responses are given out orally, there
is no time for writing. Meaning that both the teachers and the learners only need time for
listening and answering to one another. For this reason, more questions can be covered within
a shortest period of time. It is one of the fastest technique of assessing the learners, and the
learners can quickly getting the feed on whether their response is correct or wrong.
Fifthly, Banta (1996) expands that question and answer is a good assessment technique, that
is because it does not only evaluates the learners, but is also helps them to develop a skill of
speaking or expressing themselves in public. Meaning that with the use of this method, the
learners can easily become used to expressing their thoughts to other people without fear of
the crowds. Thus, the learners cannot be intimidated by the number of people who are present
before them, thus learners can freely engage in constructive debate without feeling any
shyness. It is from this assessment technique that debaters and parliamentarians are groomed.
Sixth and lastly, Gentry and Marlene (1999) states that question and answer is a good
assessment technique because it is one of the cheapest techniques of evaluating the learners.
That is because the teacher does not require any writing resources such as chalk or board
markers, and the learners do not require any writing resources such as exercise books, papers
or pens. This means that no stationery is needed in order for this type of assessment to take
place. Thus, every teacher and learners can afford this type of assessment without any
financial difficulties.
Demerits
Firstly, Ewell (1985) explains thatquestion and answer is not a good assessment technique.
That is because it is difficult for some learners to take note of the questions and responses
which are given within a short period of time. This is more true at primary level were the
children find it difficult to take dictation notes. Thus, this technique makes other learners to
feel left out and eventually lose concentration on the lesson. That is because they learners can
easily be frustrated with this method of assessment. Hence, it does not effectively help to
improve the performance of the learners. That is because the learners have little time to
analyse the weaknesses in the responses which are said to be wrong. Furthermore, (Abdullah,
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Nauman and Kent, 2006) adds that because the questions and responses are given out orally
and very quickly, it is difficult for most learners to remember the conversations which had
taken place. More especially if many questions were asked, thus the learners cannot improve
on the areas which they have forgotten, and unfortunately they cannot manage to take note of
everything that is being said. For instance, slow learners and slow writers can easily be
confused when many questions and responses are given out within a shortest period of time.
Meaning that this technique of assessment only favours the learners who are fast in terms of
understanding the lessons and also in terms of taking notes. Furthermore, (Locke and Sonja,
1998) affirms that because listening, answering and taking notes takes place at the same time,
this technique can only be appreciate by few genius learners who are able to multi-task
without getting confused in the process.
Secondly,Saunders (2001) asserts that question and answer is not a good technique of
accessing the learners because the tone of voice of some teachers may be intimidating to
some learners such that they may have fear to answer even simple questions which they know
they know. This is truer if the teacher shouts very loudly. For instance, “John!!! Tell us the
answer.” And (Helliar and Lissa, 2004) expands that some learners may find the
pronunciation of words their teachers to be misleading and confusing. Thus, the teachers in
the process of trying to explain what they are asking may end up revealing the answers to the
learners. And because the learners do not understand some questions, they may fail to answer
such questions even when they know the answers to those questions. This means that
question and answer can easily become a communication barrier, more especially if either the
teacher or the learners find it difficult to correctly pronounce the terms in English language.
Thirdly, Ewell (1985) articulates that question and answer is not a good assessment technique
because sometimes the questions which are being asked may be inconsistency, especially
very long sentence questions. This usually happens when the same question is being asked
repeatedly, but every time it is being asked, some words are changed such that the learners
may fail to fully understand the correct questions. And (Helliar and Lissa, 2004) affirms that
it is difficult for learners to comprehend very long questions which are being orally asked,
that is because they pose a very big challenge of processing them. For this reason, this
assessment technique is only suitable to short sentence questions which require short
responses. For instance, this technique of assessment is only applicable to one word answer
or brief explanations.
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Fourthly, Angelo (1991) states that question and answer is not a good assessment technique
because the results of the assessment cannot be easily documented and used for further
analysis such as finding statistical measures of the overall performance like the mean or
progress rate. Hence, the teachers and school administrators cannot use this assessment
technique to make an informed decision. And the teachers may also find it difficult to
compare the performance of the two or more classes with the use of question and answer
technique. For instance, the teachers cannot manage to ask questions, listens to the responses,
give a feedback and record the score there and then.
Fifthly, Banta (1996) claims that question and answer is not a good assessment technique
because it does not give every learner an equal chance to actively participate in the answering
process. That is because the learner who are talkative tend to take up all the questions which
are being asked, and some learners who know the correct answers may deliberately decide
not to answer the questions due to fear or unwillingness to participate in the answering
process. For instance, time cannot allow for every learner to respond to each and every
question that is being asked. Therefore, it is very difficult to get a true level of understanding
with the use of this assessment technique. That is because when the majority of the bright
learners answers the questions, then the general assumption could be that the whole class
understood the concepts, and when the majority of the slow learners answer the questions
wrongly, the opposite general assumption could be that the whole class didn’t understood
what was being taught to them.
Sixth and lastly, Centra (1993) argue that question and answer is not a good assessment
technique because it is difficult to assess a single question to the learners in one classroom
when the teacher wants to solicit a variety of questions. That is because the learners can
easily copy from each other’s response and begin to give out the same response. In addition,
(Abdullah, Nauman and Kent, 2006) expands that it is difficult to use this technique to
evaluate the learners on sensitive topics such as HIV/AIDS. That is because some learners
may be feeling shy to openly mention the answers which they may regard to be immoral or
insults. For instance, many young people are told allowed to discuss about sexual related
matters in the Zambian culture.
(c) Objective tests
According to Ewell (1985), these are the tests which have only one definite answer or
response to a question that has been posed. They include tests like multiple choice and one
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word answer. For instance, in a multiple choice test, there is only one correct answer, this
makes it objective because the correct is the same across the teachers or markers of the test.
And they are written tests.
Merits
Firstly,Farooqi and Kent (2004) explains that objective tests are a good assessment technique
because they are very objective or consistency in terms of determining the correct answer to
the question. Meaning that they eliminate the possibility of the teachers to be bias towards
other learners. That is because the same is very clear in the objective tests, and the marks are
clearly allocated for each question. The teacher has no influence on the outcome of the
objective tests. Thus, it is very easily for learners to challenge a wrong decision of the
teacher. For instance, when a correct answer on a multiple choice is A, but the teachers
wrongly marks B as a correct answer, then the learners can easily identify the error in the
marking and correct the teacher. Meaning that objective tests are good for auditing, the errors
which were made during the marking and scoring process can easily be identified and
corrected. Thus, only true answers are awarded the correct marks.
Secondly,Gentry and Marlene (1999) suggests that objective tests are a good assessment
technique because they can easily be scored or marked. This means that more answer sheets
could be easily scored and the results can be quickly made available to the learners. Thereby,
settling their anxiety for knowing the outcome of the test. In addition, (Locke and Sonja,
1998) expands that objective tests could be easily scored by anyone, provided that every
marker is given a correct marking key. Meaning that the task of marking objective tests could
easily be distributed to other people. For instance, a teacher who is marking a bulk of
objective tests can easily distribute the marking task to other teachers as long as they give
them the correct marking key.
Thirdly,Centra (1993) articulates that objective tests are a good assessment technique because
they can easily sample the content of the subject. Meaning that the teachers can easily set
questions from different areas of the subject, as long as they have taught those areas. Hence,
the learners can be assessed on many questions within a shortest period of time. And(Helliar
and Lissa, 2004) expands that objective tests are good for assessing the level of
understanding and the facts which learners have on a given topic. For instance, objective tests
can be used on sensitive topics such as HIV/AIDS and other health related topics.
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Fourthly,Banta (1996) asserts that objective tests are a good assessment technique because
they emphasis on assessing the understanding of the learners and the amount of knowledge
they have against what they have been taught over a given period of time. And not assessing
the writing skills of the learner, or their ability to use the language more efficiently. This
means that objective tests are good for assessing if the learners have mastered a given
concept or not.
Fifth and lastly, Angelo (1991) states that objectives tests are a good assessment technique
because the outcome of the test can easily be documented and used for further analysis.
Making it easier for the teachers to identify the common questions which the learners were
failing to answer correctly. This is important because it helps the teachers to identify the areas
were the learners didn’t fully understood. Meaning that the teachers can then use the results
of the objective test to recommend for some areas to be re-taught to learners so that quality
learning and understanding could be achieved. In addition, (Abdullah, Nauman and Kent,
2006) expands that it is very easy for the learners to also identify the areas where they went
wrong in terms of answering, that is because the feedback which is mostly given is very
precisely. For instance, on a multiple choice test, some teachers would mark an incorrect
answer with an ‘x’ but placing the ‘x’ on the correct answer so that the learners can easily
know the correct answers to the questions which were asked during the test. As a result, the
objective tests can easily be used for revising the subject or the content which has been
covered during a given period of time.
Demerits
Firstly,Saunders (2001) emphasises that objective tests are not a good assessment technique
because they are very difficult to construct. They require the teachers to be highly skilful and
experienced in order for them to construct good objective tests. Meaning that the new and
inexperienced teachers cannot effective utilise this assessment technique. For instance, it is
difficult to select the distractors and one correct answer on the multiple choices. For this
reason, some teachers have ended up putting more than one correct answer on the multiple
choices or not even including one correct answer on the multiple choices.
Secondly,Banta (1996) claims that objective tests are not a good assessment technique
because they are highly structured. Making it difficult for teachers to assess other cognitive
areas of their learners. That is because the objective tests does not measure the writing skills
of the learners, the areas such as organising of ideas into one paragraph and logically
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presenting the ideas cannot be assessed with objective tests. For this reason, objective tests
could be said to promote shallow understanding of the concepts. That is because they don’t
allow learners to explain their answers. For instance, learners do not need to justify or explain
the reason for choosing one choice and not other choices.
Thirdly, and lastly, Farooqi and Kent (2004) argue that objective tests are not a good
assessment technique because they promote rote learning (memorisation of concepts) and
guess work. Meaning that it is very much possible for the learners who do not understand
anything to score very high marks, even a 100%. That is because the learners are provided
with the possible answers. They just need to select an answer from a list of answers which
they have been provided with. It is for this reason that even grade seven (7) pupils who are
not attentive in class manage to proceed to grade eight (8) shocking all the people who were
not expecting such learners to progress to grade eight (8).
(d) Subjective tests
According to Gentry and Marlene (1999), these are the tests which have more than one
correct response to one question. They all depend on the justification which the learners
provide for giving their views. And they also depend on the level of satisfaction the teacher
has towards a given answer. And they include short explanatory notes and essays. Meaning
that they involve writing many words in order for one answer to be given.
Merits
Firstly,Centra (1993) explain that subjective tests are a good assessment technique because
the responses are very flexible, learners are allowed to select and organise facts which are
related to the question and present them in a logical manner. Meaning that subjective tests
promotes critical thinking of the learners. And it also assesses the writing skills of the
learners, thus the learners can freely express their views without any restrictions. This means
that a teacher can get a variety of responses from one question which was posed. That is
because different learners will reason differently and provide different explanations.
Secondly,Banta (1996) asserts that subjective tests are a good assessment technique because
they are very easy to construct. Meaning that even new and inexperienced teachers can easily
construct them. For instance, an essay question only requires one or two sentences in order
for a test to be prepared. Thus, they don’t consume a lot of time when constructing.
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Third and lastly, Angelo (1991) explains that subjective tests are a good assessment technique
because they are written and the learners can use the previous tests to revise their subject.
And teachers can also use the results of the tests to further analyse the weaknesses of the
learners. That is because, learners cannot manage to guess answers with this kind of
assessment. Hence, the subjective tests measures the true understanding of the learners.
Meaning that the teachers can easily identify the areas of the test were the majority of the
learners are failing to attempt or they are responding very wrong answers, and then suggests
for such areas to be re-taught so that understanding could be achieved.
Demerits
Firstly,Farooqi and Kent (2004) explains that subjective tests are not a good assessment
technique because they are very flexible in terms of the responses which are considered to be
correct. Therefore, the scoring process could easily be influenced by biasness. That is because
it’s all up to the marker to decide the correctness of the response. For this reason, it is
difficult to prepare a definite marking key. As a result, subjective tests are very difficult to
mark, thereby making it difficult for the teachers to distribute the task of making to other
teachers, more especially the teachers who are not specialised in a subject which is being
marked. And the teachers may be assessing the things which are not connected to the
questions such as handwriting and the grammar which is being used.
Secondly,Saunders (2001) asserts that subjective tests are not a good assessment technique
because they are time consuming when it comes to marking. That is because the teachers
need to read through a lot of words in order for them to fully understand the points of the
learners. And sometimes the learners may write a lot of words without even giving out a
single point in those words. Thus, subjective tests could be frustrating and exhausting to the
teachers who are marking them. As a result, some teachers may then decide to read through
the answers of the learners in parts, making the assessment process to be highly ineffective.
This is evident in cases where the teachers omit to award some marks to the correct responses
which were given by the learners.
Third and lastly,Centra (1993)articulates that subjective tests such as essays are not a good
assessment technique because they cannot be used to sample the content of the subject during
the assessment. Meaning that they can only assess one area of the subject at a time. Thus,
they cannot give a true picture of the overall understanding of the learners. For instance,
when an essay question is constructed on the area where a learner fully understood, that
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learner can score very high marks and can be assumed to fully understand that subject, when
in fact it is just that area where the learner is able to clearly explanation. Therefore, it is very
difficult to know the overall performance of the learner in other areas of the subject.
(e) Student presentations or seminars
According to Banta (1996), student presentations or seminars are assessment techniques were
the learners are given a question or a series of questions as a group, but only few or one
student is selected to present the findings of those questions. Meaning that the main
responsibility of researching falls on the key learners who are selected to present those
questions.
Merits
Firstly,Gentry and Marlene (1999) asserts that student presentation is a good assessment
technique because it gives learners the leadership responsibility. That is because the learners
who are presenting take up the main role of sharing the ideas. And the teachers are just there
to facilitate or guide the decision so that it goes on smoothly. Therefore, the learners can
critically analyse questions with this technique. That is because different viewpoints are
brought forward, and the learners need to convince each other on the viewpoint which is
more acceptable and logical. Thus, critical thinking is encouraged with this assessment
technique.
Secondly, Angelo (1991) articulates that seminar is a good assessment technique because all
the learners know what is involved. Thus, all the learners have the chance to participate in the
clarification of concepts. That is because every learner has the right to ask questions and also
contribute to the explanations which other learners have mentioned. Hence, everyone is an
active learner.
Third and lastly,Farooqi and Kent (2004) explains that student presentation is a good
assessment technique because the teachers can clearly see and hear the learners explaining or
discussing the concepts understand consideration. Unlike a situation where the learners just
submit a copy of explanations which the teachers cannot tell if the learners really know and
understand what is written in those documents or not. Thus, student presentation helps to
clear any doubt which may be related to the authenticity of the work that is submitted for
assessed. In addition, (Abdullah, Nauman and Kent, 2006) expands that student presentation
makes it easier for the teachers to mark the work of the learners. That is because the learners
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orally present their work before anyone. Thus, the teachers just need to pay attention and
listen to the points which their learners express during the presentation. The teachers can only
go through the hardcopy of the presentation just in order to verify what their learners were
saying or in case they have forgotten what their learners were saying.
Fourth and lastly, Banta (1996) emphasises that student presentation is a good assessment
technique because it helps the learners to develop the skill of speaking publicly and also to
learn to tolerate criticisms without them getting emotionally attached to those criticisms. That
is because during the presentation, some of the opposite viewpoints tend to reject or disagree
with what the presenter may be presenting before the class. Thus, they challenge the
presenters to provide more evidence to the assertions which they make.
Demerits
Firstly,Centra (1993) explains that seminar is not a good assessment technique because it is
time consuming. The learners needs more time to research the topic or question under
consideration. And only one (1) few learners could be assessed within a day. For this reason,
some learners may not be assessed by the end of the assessment period. Thereby, causing the
teachers or lecturers to comprise on the method of assessing the learners. For instance, when
some learners have to time for presenting before the class or a seminar group, the lecturer or
teacher may just request the learners to submit their written presentation. Meaning that other
components of the assessment such as the level of confidence, voice projection, dress code,
posture and body language, may not be assessed due to lack of time and consequently and
lack of an opportunity to present.
Second and lastly, Saunders (2001) argues that student presentation is not a good assessment
technique because the presentation may be boring if the topic is not thoroughly researched
upon. And sometimes, only a few learners may contribute and ask questions. Thereby
allowing the presenters to go free without facing a challenge of answering the questions from
their colleagues or even their teacher.
(f) Final examinations
According to Gentry and Marlene (1999), these are assessments which are given at the end of
the course or a programme of learners. For instance, the grade 7, 9 and 12 write their final
examinations at the end of their courses respectively. They are a summative format of
assessment.
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Merit
According to Farooqi and Kent (2004), final examinations are a good assessment technique
because they summarise everything which the learner learnt during their course of studying.
And because the examinations are a summary, they do not give the learners a burden of
answering all the things which they covered. Thus, the learners are only assessed on most
important things which they need to know before the can proceed to other level of education.
Demerit
According to Centra (1993), examinations are not a good assessment technique because they
instil fear in the learners such that some learners fail to focus on their examination. This is
mainly because serious decisions are made from the outcome of the examination. While some
examinations only tend to focus on what the learners can remember, and neglect the
psychomotor examination (practicals). Most learners are not examined on their practical
creativity. This means that examinations are biased towards theoretical work.
Relevancy
According to Banta (1996), the relevance of the assessment is to provide feedback to the
learners, the teachers, the school administrators, sponsors and other relevant stakeholders.
This means that the assessments are used as a basis for making the decisions. For instance,
the sponsors uses the assessment results to decide if they are going to continue sponsoring the
learners or not. And the ministry of education also uses the assessment results to select the
learners who qualify to proceed to the next level of education.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the assessment of the learners are important in ensuring that the learners are
acquiring the concepts which are designed in the school curriculum. Therefore, the
assessment helps the ministry of education to know the learners who have fully understood
the concepts or not. It is for this reason that the learners who fail to meet the minimum bench
mark or pass mark are not allowed to proceed to higher levels of education. Instead, they are
encouraged to repeat their course of study so that they can know and understand the concepts
which are designed in the school curriculum. Thus, assessments ensure that the graduates
who are produced from schools will be able to fit in society without facing major challenges.
For instance, teachers who have fully understood the concepts in their curriculum will be able
to effectively teach the learners without any difficulties, but teachers who didn’t pass their
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course cannot effectively teach the learners. As a result, they tend to encourage the learners to
use the leakages so that they can manage to pass the assessments at different levels.
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