Perception of teachers, education officers and P. T. A. chairmen on performance monitoring test in basic schools: The case of Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa district in the Central region of Ghana

Abstract

Concerns raised by stakeholders in education over the continuous falling standards of education in the country has made the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service put in place such intervention as the performance Monitoring Test. The PMT is organized by the Inspectorate Division of the Ghana Education Service to measure the performance level of teachers and pupils in teaching and learning. The purpose of the study was to find out whether respondents perceived the PMT as an effective instrument to bring about effective teaching and learning and problems that confronted the administration of the PMT. The population for the study comprised 116 teachers, 25 head teachers, 6 education officers and 25 PTA chairmen. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 25 schools for the study. The main instrument used was questionnaire for gathering information from respondents. Data was analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The outcome of the study showed positive perception of respondents. Problems identified included the method of sampling, pupils’ inability to read the printed text and the stern attitude of some of the organizers. A key recommendation was that it would be helpful if every child is made to write the test rather than taking a sample.