Economics Teachers’ Conceptions of Classroom Assessment: A Study of Senior High Schools in the Central and Ashanti Regions of Ghana

Abstract

Assessment literacy is part of the Economics teachers’ professional competence, yet little attention in the form of research has been undertaken in this area of study in Ghana. This study therefore explored Senior High School (SHS) Economics teachers’ conceptions of the purposes for undertaking classroom assessment. In specific terms, the study investigated Economics teachers’ understanding of the various motives that inform their assessment practices. The study also examined the influence of the Economics teachers’ demographic variables such as age, gender, and teaching experience on their conceptions of classroom assessment. It further assessed the influence of formal training in assessment on the teachers’ conceptions of the construct. The study was a descriptive type which employed the survey method. Respondents of this study comprised 301 Senior High School Economics teachers drawn from the Central and Ashanti Regions of Ghana. The participants were made up of 213 male and 88 female teachers. A 56-item version of Brown’s Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment (TCoA) inventory scale was adopted as the questionnaire for this study. Using a test-retest procedure of two-week interval, the TCoA which also made provisions for the demographic data of respondents on a different section, was administered on 36 Economics teachers. A reliability index of .813 was obtained. The data were analyzed using mean, t-test, and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical techniques. The findings of the study showed that a majority of the Economics teachers (mean score = 3.01) consented to the idea that classroom assessment leads to improvement in teaching and learning, as well as ensuring school accountability (mean score = 3.27). The study also found that gender and age did not influence teachers’ conception of assessment. It was recommended among other issues that professional learning communities be organized for experienced and less experienced Economics teachers to enable them exchange ideas on the various purposes of classroom assessment.