Volume 8, Issue 1, September 2014, Pages 141–148
Thembinkosi Tshabalala1 and Alfred Champion Ncube2
1 Faculty of Arts and Education at the Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
2 Pro-Vice Chancellor-Academic at the Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Measurement and evaluation in education is very important on a wide spectrum across the board. They provide information needed in overall education planning. Decisions on instructional aims, units, grades or marks enable teachers and school administrators to determine the extent to which pupils are growing towards the desired goals. Through measurement and evaluation, a teacher can diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of pupils and takes a progress on remedial action. If effectively utilised, measurement and evaluation may lead to the improvement of both instruction and the learning situation. Without evaluation and measurement, it is impossible to know a student's needs and preferences. In the Zimbabwean primary school system, heads and teachers use measurement and evaluation to ascertain the abilities and levels of attainment by students in areas such as reading, writing, and in all subject areas. This research investigated the effectiveness of measurement and evaluation in Zimbabwean schools using the quantitative paradigm. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The target population comprised all primary school teachers in Bulawayo's Mzilikazi district with a teacher establishment of 120 teachers. The sample consisted of 100 teachers and 10 heads of schools. Of the sample respondents, 85 were female and 25 were male. All the information was collected through a questionnaire which had both close-ended and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to interpret data. The study revealed that heads predominantly used summative evaluation and teachers preferred tests, class work and oral work. The study also revealed that lack of resources hampered efforts by both heads and teachers to conduct effective measurement and evaluation sessions. The study recommends that schools should mobilise more resources towards measurement and evaluation.
Author Keywords: Effectiveness, Measurement, Evaluation, Primary school, District, Teachers, Heads.
Thembinkosi Tshabalala1 and Alfred Champion Ncube2
1 Faculty of Arts and Education at the Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
2 Pro-Vice Chancellor-Academic at the Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Measurement and evaluation in education is very important on a wide spectrum across the board. They provide information needed in overall education planning. Decisions on instructional aims, units, grades or marks enable teachers and school administrators to determine the extent to which pupils are growing towards the desired goals. Through measurement and evaluation, a teacher can diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of pupils and takes a progress on remedial action. If effectively utilised, measurement and evaluation may lead to the improvement of both instruction and the learning situation. Without evaluation and measurement, it is impossible to know a student's needs and preferences. In the Zimbabwean primary school system, heads and teachers use measurement and evaluation to ascertain the abilities and levels of attainment by students in areas such as reading, writing, and in all subject areas. This research investigated the effectiveness of measurement and evaluation in Zimbabwean schools using the quantitative paradigm. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The target population comprised all primary school teachers in Bulawayo's Mzilikazi district with a teacher establishment of 120 teachers. The sample consisted of 100 teachers and 10 heads of schools. Of the sample respondents, 85 were female and 25 were male. All the information was collected through a questionnaire which had both close-ended and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to interpret data. The study revealed that heads predominantly used summative evaluation and teachers preferred tests, class work and oral work. The study also revealed that lack of resources hampered efforts by both heads and teachers to conduct effective measurement and evaluation sessions. The study recommends that schools should mobilise more resources towards measurement and evaluation.
Author Keywords: Effectiveness, Measurement, Evaluation, Primary school, District, Teachers, Heads.
How to Cite this Article
Thembinkosi Tshabalala and Alfred Champion Ncube, “THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION IN ZIMBABWEAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS: TEACHERS AND HEADS' PERCEPTIONS,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 141–148, September 2014.
