Soyibo, Kola; Lofters, Paula
An analysis of Jamaican primary school teachers' science teaching assessment strategies
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (Boston, MA, March 28-31, 1999).
The types of assessment methods that 400 Jamaican primary teachers indicated that they used in teaching science were analyzed using three instruments. Most of the teachers indicated that they often used oral quiz and other traditional assessment methods (TAM) while alternative assessment methods (AAM) were rarely used. An oral quiz was often used by most of the 30 teachers whose 150 lessons were actually observed. More females claimed that they used oral quiz more than males. Rural teachers indicated that they used more TAM than their urban peers while older and more experienced teachers used more AAM than their younger and less experienced peers respectively. Trained teachers indicated that they use more of both TAM and AAM than untrained teachers. Significant differences existed in the number of those who used written tests in favor of teachers aged over 30 years and the less experienced ones; practical work, oral quiz, and projects in favor of those over 30; and portfolio in favor of those aged over 30 and urban teachers.....