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Continuous assessment still only on paper...
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Continuous assessment still only on paper...
Continuous assessment is gradually making its way into the educational system – but only in theory. In fact, there is no such assessment officially at any level of primary or secondary school but the ministry of Education has started to show an interest in implementing it at both levels. But changes have remained on paper so far.
The National Curriculum Framework established that continuous assessment should be gradually introduced up to the Certificate of Primary Education. Last year, the document “Towards a quality curriculum strategy for reform” written by technicians of the ministry planned that continuous assessment be introduced in January 2007 but the method has not yet been introduced in schools. Teachers are still resorting to end-of-term assessments, according to primary head teachers questioned.
Likewise, the Higher School Certificate (HSC) professional, which will be introduced in schools as from next year, is supposed to introduce a certain measure of continuous assessment into the system. The new version of the HSC, which will last three years, will not be obtained by taking a final exam.
Unfair and risky final assessment</B>
“Students will be gradually assessed through exams taking place every year or every six months. We have not taken a final decision on this specific point but it will certainly be very different from everything we have known so far,”, the Mauritius Examination Syndicate (MES) director, Lucien Finette, explains.
Although all these intentions are just a beginning, they point to the fact that the authorities are giving increasing importance to the concept of continuous assessment.
The main argument behind the adoption of continuous assessment is to avoid focusing all efforts, time and hopes on just one exam. The protests in May 68 in France were the perfect opportunity for students to point at the unfair and risky final assessment in their schools. They made it clear that such an exam merely represented the performance of the moment and not the efforts made throughout the year. They insisted on the risk that even the best-prepared student could have a problem the day of the exam and came out in favour of continuous assessment to reduce those risks. However, the Baccalauréat is still considered as a heritage of this “final exam“ method.
In Mauritius, the system does not cater for continuous assessment. During the first years of primary (up to Standard V) and secondary (up to Form IV) schools, pupils are assessed through end-of-term exams. However, for purely organisational reasons, some teachers may be brought to do continuous assessment during the first term. As the first term is short and includes many interruptions (especially with cyclones and public holidays), some schools make use of continuous assessment “but this is only done for a more efficient time use”, reveals a well-informed source.
The problem is that this is done only “by force of circumstances” and not in the “spirit of continuous assessment which should imply a closer link between teaching and learning”. It is certainly true that in such a system the work done each day in class by the teacher would take on an even greater importance. It is also true that the continuous assessment method requires a great deal more time and paper-work on the part of teachers.
As one of the speakers at the forum on education – organised by the Groupe de Réflexion – at the University of Mauritius last Saturday, Faizal Jeeroobarkhan from the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) made it clear that teachers are "continuously trained" for continuous assessment but he rightly pointed out, “there is no application of it in schools. When teachers go out from the MIE, we hope that they will change the system but we soon realise that the system changes them”.
As long as the system does not make room for continuous assessment, it is a fact that teachers will not implement it. “All educational institutions should have the same ideology in order to bring changes into the system. As long as there is no reform, there is no doubt that teachers will not use all the benefits gained from their training sessions”, another source points out.
Besides implementing more fairness in the system, continuous assessment obviously offers another advantage. Surendra Bissoondoyal, the former MES director, who also took part at the forum, made a plea for the implementation of this method in schools and particularly at primary level. For him, the system is too exam-oriented and nothing will change so long as “we have exams after six years of academic learning”. For him, a major reform is necessary and the first step is undeniably the introduction of continuous assessment.
“Assessment and evaluation are completely different from examinations. After six years, it is too late to see if children have difficulty understanding concepts. If a concept has not been understood at 6 or 7 years old, then remedial action should be taken at that age and should not wait until the child is11 years old, as it is the case at the moment” he insisted.
Such major reforms in the education sector can’t be applied without proper organisation. An overall shift in mentalities should occur to make sure children enjoy a better system.
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OUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY...
“Major mindshift needed for fruitful results“</B>
● <B> Is the introduction of continuous assessment desirable in schools today?</B>
Of course, there is no doubt that continuous assessment is desirable but I wonder whether it is really feasible. The main objective of such a reform would be to avoid putting all the eggs in the same basket and to assess children throughout the year. However, at secondary level, this would involve major changes and would imply that a consensus is reached on the way of applying it. If the system remains as it is, it would mean that all results should be sent to Cambridge and all schools should have the same methodology in assessing their pupils.
● <B>This would indeed give rise to technical problems but would it be desirable for the child – from a pedagogical point of view?</B>
My fear is that the stress of one final exam becomes the stress of four or five exams during the year. And this would of course go against the ultimate objective of such a method. I am afraid that we lose a lot of time on exams and do not give enough time to learning. We should not develop an obsession with assessment; it should be a natural process that follows learning process and not one that comes before it.
● <B>So don’t you believe in this method?</B>
Of course I do but we should first make sure that there is a major shift in mentalities and that the system is not too exam-oriented as it is the case now… It is only then that the system will be fruitful.
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