Abstract:
The research aimed to investigate the impact of formative assessment practices on the academic performance of junior high students in mathematics within the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly, Ghana. This research work was guided by two research questions and two corresponding hypotheses. It utilized a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design with non-equivalent control groups. A randomly selected sample of 140 students from two public junior high schools in grade two participated in the research. Mathematics Achievement Tests, designed to be alternative in nature, were used for both pretest and posttest data collection. Statistical tools used to analyse the data were one-way analysis of covariance, two-way analysis of covariance, independent samples t-test and dependent sample t-test. The findings suggested that students who were given formative assessment practices as treatment recorded did better in the post-test scores as compared to control group’s participants who were not given the intervention. Male students did not perform differently from their female counterparts as the study revealed no significant gender effect on mathematics achievement. It was concluded that the intervention programme of formative assessment practices were effective for participants’ academic success in mathematics. The study proposed recommendations for the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education, school administrators, and curriculum developers to prioritize and enhance the integration of formative assessment practices within their teacher training programs and workshops. This approach aims to further strengthen the proficiency of educators in implementing formative assessment techniques when instructing mathematical concepts, ultimately contributing to improved student learning outcomes
