CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1Â Â BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Our educational system’s continuous assessment is a relatively new invention. It is regarded as one of the most significant outcomes of the Nigeria National Curriculum Conference, which took place in 1969. “Educational assessment and evaluation will be liberalized by using them in whole or part on continuous assessment of individual progress,” the Nigerian National Policy on Education states explicitly in section 3 article 17 (g) that “advancement from one class to another (in primary school) shall be based on continuous assessment.” Continuous assessment, according to Yoloye (1985), is a method of determining what a student gains from schooling in terms of knowledge, industry, and character development, taking into account the pupil’s performance in tests, assignments, projects, and other educational activities over the course of a term, year, or the entire period of a pupil’s educational level. It is “a means of determining what the learner has learned from learning activities in terms of information, thinking, reasoning, character development, and industry.” Continuous evaluation of students’ learning experiences, according to Anikweze (1987), is an approach that allows teachers to guarantee that students are not just taught but also equitably educated. The emphasis here is on assessing affective behaviors throughout the class when students are actively participating in the learning process, according to Anikweze (1995). Continuous assessment, according to Falayajo (1979), is a “system of assessment carried out at predetermined intervals (usually coinciding with some identifiable units of instruction or level of educational system) for the purpose of monitoring the progress of students and the overall performance of the educational system.” Continuous assessment, according to Okoye (1991), is a systematic and objective process of determining the extent of a student’s learner) performance in all the expected changes in his behavior from the day he begins a course of study in a progressive manner to the end of such course of study, as well as a judicious accumulation of all pieces of information derived from this purpose with the intent of using them to guide and shape the students in his learning from time to time. Continuous assessment is a method in which a student’s final “rating in the cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor domains of behavior systematically takes into account all of his performances within a certain time of education.” According to Akinade (1996), continuous assessment is defined as the systematic use of a variety of reliable multiple assessment tools at regular intervals to determine the learner’s performance and ability in the three domains of behavior (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor), with the goal of obtaining a true picture of the learner and assisting him in reaching his full potential. Continuous assessment also allows teachers to have a stronger say in the overall evaluation of their students, allowing them to better tailor their curriculum and instruction to fit the requirements of their students (Ezenwu, 1991). All of these concepts are easily grasped, but when the term “educational standard” is stated, things get a little more complicated. The notion shifts and becomes less clear; there is no commonly agreed definition of quality, criterion, or assessment system for education. The significant knowledge on which the acquisition of many different kinds of information and comprehension of other subjects is based, as well as on inquiry, and which may constitute the basis of educational excellence Furthermore, achieving a high level of excellence in all of these fields is difficult, for example, in mathematics neatness, accuracy, methods, and layout; in reading, relative value is given to phrases emphasis, accent, and understanding; and in writing, neatness, accuracy, method, punctuation, layout, spelling of words, idea, and imagination (Okoye, 1991). All of these are subjective judgments that differ from one person to the next. There is a significant amount of subjectivity in the measurement of mental attitude. However, this does not rule out the possibility of some level of greatness in these areas; measurement is dependent to a greater or lesser extent on the measures employed, and because their measuring rods differ, measurement must also differ (Patrick, 1991). This is an educational norm that will constantly be contested.
1.2Â Â Â STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study is primarily concerned with examining continuous assessment as a factor in raising educational standards, with the goal of identifying the significance of continuous assessment as a factor in raising educational standards in primary schools, particularly in rural areas(Okoye, 1991).Below are the schools been examined:
i. Alice Nursery and Primary School
i. Blessing Nursery and Primary School.
ii. Anglican Nursery and Primary School.
iii. Grace International Nursery and Primary School
iv. NUD Primary School.
