Research Article

Classroom Assessment Literacy Levels of Mathematics Teachers in Ghanaian Senior High Schools

Peter Akayuure 1 *
More Detail
1 University of Education, Winneba, GHANA* Corresponding Author
Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, 2(2), July 2021, ep21013, https://doi.org/10.30935/conmaths/11286
Submitted: 01 April 2021, Published: 20 October 2021
OPEN ACCESS   1927 Views   1713 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

The mathematics teacher’s ability to assess and integrate assessment data into instructions is a function of their assessment literacy. While the teacher’s assessment literacy level is a determinant of quality of mathematics education delivery, research in the domain is limited. The study employed a descriptive survey design to explore perceived levels of assessment literacy of mathematics teachers in implementing classroom assessment within the school based assessment framework. A 35-item classroom assessment inventory was adopted, modified and administered to a purposive sample of 96 mathematics teachers from eleven Senior High Schools in Ghana. Seven other items were included to further collect data on their self-efficacy beliefs about their assessment literacy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U test and correlation analysis. The result shows that majority of the participants did not attain the required assessment literacy standards for quality assessment in mathematics classroom. Moreover, there was a mismatch between participants’ assessment literacy and their self-efficacy beliefs in assessment in mathematics education even when gender and teacher experience were controlled. The study recommends that institutions training mathematics teachers or providing professional development should accentuate assessment literacy development to ensure standard assessment practices and quality instruction in mathematics at senior high schools. The assessment inventory used in this study could be adapted for use in college of education in Ghana to measure mathematics teachers’ literacies in assessing students.
Keywords: assessment literacy, mathematics teachers, self-efficacy beliefs, senior high schools

CITATION (APA)

Akayuure, P. (2021). Classroom Assessment Literacy Levels of Mathematics Teachers in Ghanaian Senior High Schools. Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, 2(2), ep21013. https://doi.org/10.30935/conmaths/11286

REFERENCES

  1. Abell, S. K., & Siegel, M. A. (2011). Assessment literacy: What science teachers need to know and be able to do. In The professional knowledge base of science teaching (pp. 205-221). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3927-9_12
  2. Alkharusi, H. (2011). Teachers’ classroom assessment skills: Influence of gender, subject area, grade level, teaching experience and in-service assessment raining. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 8 (2). Available at: https://www.pegem.net/dosyalar/dokuman/138730-2014012295456-3.pdf.
  3. American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, & National Education Association (AFT, NCME, & NEA). (1990). Standards for teacher competence in educational assessment of students. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 9(4), 30-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3992.1990.tb00391.x
  4. Awoniyi, C. F. (2016). The understanding of senior high school mathematics teachers of school-based assessment and its challenges in the Cape Coast Metropolis. British Journal of Education, 4(10), 22-38. www.eajournals.org
  5. Bandele, S. O., & Olutawayo, J. A. (2013). Assessing assessment literacy of science teachers in public secondary schools in Ekiti State. Journal of Education and Practice, 4(28), 56-63.
  6. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033 – 295x.84.2.191
  7. Beziat, T. L. R., & Coleman, B. K. (2015). Classroom assessment literacy: Evaluating pre-service teachers. The Researcher, 27(1), 25-30.
  8. Earl, L. M. (2013). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize student learning. Corwin 2013.
  9. Herrington, T., Sparrow, L., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (1997). Investigating assessment strategies in mathematics classrooms. Perth, Australia: MASTEC - Mathematics, Science & Technology Centre, Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks
  10. Huang, J., & He, Z. H. (2016). Exploring Assessment Literacy. Higher Education of Social Science, 11(2), 18-27. https://doi.org/10.3968/8727
  11. Kim, Y., & Lee, O. (2021). Auto ethnography of a novice teacher’s assessment literacy in elementary physical education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 16(1), 1882066. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2021.1882066
  12. Koh, K. H., & Velayutham, R. L. (2009). Improving teachers’ assessment literacy in Singapore schools: An analysis of teachers’ assessment tasks and student work. NIE Research Brief No. 09-002. p. 2. http://hdl.handle.net/10497/4433
  13. Kothari, C., R. (2004). Research methodology. Methods and techniques. New Age International (P) Ltd. Publishers.
  14. Larsari, N., V. (2021). An investigation into Teacher Assessment Literacy (TAL) of learners’ writing developments: Impact on learners’ writing achievements and implications for teacher development. Journal of Social science and Humanities Research, 9(1), 93-100. http://journals.researchub.org/index.php/JSSHR/article/view/1190
  15. Lian, L. H., Yew, W. T., & Meng, C. C. (2014). Enhancing Malaysian teachers’ assessment literacy. International Education Studies, 7(10), 74-81. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v7n10p74
  16. Lian, L., H. & Yew, W., T. (2020). Development of an Assessment Literacy Super-item Test for Assessing Preservice Teachers’ Assessment Literacy. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 13(7), 870-889. https://ijicc.net/
  17. Mahmud, M. S. (2020). Level of oral questions used by new and experience teachers in mathematics teaching in primary schools. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(8), 3533-3541. https://doi.org/10.37200/IJPR/V24I8/PR280372
  18. Mertler, C. A. (2002). Classroom assessment literacy inventory. (Adapted from the Teacher Assessment Literacy Questionnaire (1993), by Barbara S. Plake & James C. Impara), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in cooperation with The National Council on Measurement in Education.
  19. Mertler, C. A. (2002). Classroom assessment literacy inventory. http://www.pareonline.net/htm/v8n22/cali.htm
  20. Mertler, C. A. (2004). Secondary teachers’ assessment literacy: Does classroom experience make a difference? American Secondary Education, 33(1), 49-64. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41064623
  21. Ministry of Education (2018a). Standards based curriculum for pre-tertiary education. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. MOE: Accra, Ghana. https://nacca.gov.gh/?page_id=9230#1554979862927-4c1cecfa-0cf1
  22. Ministry of Education (2018b). Education Strategic Plan, ESP 2018 – 2030 Ghana: A learning nation. Policies, programmes, key performance indicators, financing and a monitoring & evaluation framework. Accra, Ghana. https://www.globalpartnership.org/content/education-strategic-plan-2018-2030-ghana
  23. Popham, W. J. (2004). All about accountability / why assessment illiteracy is professional suicide. Educational Leadership, 62(1), 82‐83. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ716762
  24. Sbai, I. (2018). Investigating the perception of K-12 teachers on their assessment literacy and obstacles hindering the implementation of effective assessments in Dubai private schools. Journal for Researching Education Practice & Theory, 1(1), 4-27. https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/1357
  25. Siegel, M. A., & Wissehr, C. (2011). Preparing for the plunge: Preservice teachers’ assessment literacy. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 22(4), 371-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-011-9231-6
  26. Stiggins, R. J. (1995). Assessment literacy for the 21st century. Phi Delta Kappan, 77(3), 238-245. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/assessment-literacy-21st-century/docview/218532914/se-2
  27. Stiggins, R. J. (1999). Are you assessment literate? The High School Journal, 6(5), 20-23.
  28. Suah, S. L., & Ong, S. L. (2012). Investigating assessment practices of in-service teachers. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 4(1). https://iojes.net/
  29. Tan, H., Ng, D. K. E., & Cheng, L. P. (2017). Towards a conceptual framework for assessment literacy for mathematics teachers. In B. Kaur, W. K. Ho, T. L. Toh, & B. H. Choy (Eds.), Proceedings of the 41st Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 4, pp. 249-256). PME. http://hdl.handle.net/10497/19014
  30. Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.010
  31. Yamtim, V., & Wongwanich, S. (2014). A study of classroom assessment literacy of primary school teachers. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 2998-3004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.696
  32. Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981-1015. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626801