Continuous Assessment and Academic Performance of Business Studies Students in Junior Secondary Schools
Abstract
The study examined continuous assessment and academic performance of Business Studies students in Junior Secondary Schools in Oruk Anam Local Government Area. Two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Correlation research design was adopted. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of one hundred (100) Junior Secondary two (JS2) Business Studies students out of the population of four hundred and twenty two (422) in the study area. Plain sheets were used in collecting the continuous assessment scores and examination scores of the selected students.
The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The results of the analysis revealed a significant relationship between continuous assessment scores and examination scores of Business Studies students in Junior Secondary Schools in Oruk Anam Local Government Area. Based on the outcome of the statistical analysis, the null hypotheses were rejected at 98 degree of freedom with 0.05 level of significance. It was therefore recommended that Business Studies students should give more priority to the continuous assessment exercise in school since it is an integral part of their overall assessment.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
In Nigeria and the world over, education is seen as the key that unlocks the door to modernization. For these and other reasons, it has become imperative for the authorities concerned to enforce such activities that will promotes the quality of education obtained in our society so as to avoid the situation of producing educated illiterates. However, every educational system in this century needs to be properly evaluated in order to achieve its intended goal. This means assessment is necessary in every institutions of learning.
The National Policy on Education (2004) aims at making education a dynamic instrument of change which will transform all aspect of our national life. The abrupt change in policy necessitated the abandonment of the old British system of education for the new 6-3-3-4 system which tends to pragmatism in philosophy (Oladunni, 2016). This change was accompanied with innovation in teaching-learning process as well as in the mode of assessment of the learners.
Consequently, the method of assessment of the teaching-learning process also changes from one-shot type of examination to include continuous assessment. Contrary to the old practice whereby assessment of learners for certification was based on one external examination, the policy stipulated that examination will be partly based on continuous assessment. The once-for-all examination was criticized as an inadequate and unsatisfactory measure of students abilities.
According to Obiako (2015), external examinations set by external agencies were cited with many disadvantages such as over making the examination foreign to examiners. Other criticisms made against the one-shot examination were lack of diagnosis and guidance oriented propensity, creation of coverage of content taught to the learners, high rate of failure, heavy dependence on note taking and high rate of examination malpractice (Ogundeye, 2013). However, the aim of a test given to students is geared toward guiding both the teacher and students. That is, the teacher is to discover the status of his teaching efforts, while the students are to discover the learning difficulties with a view to overcoming them.
Continuous Assessment and Academic Performance of Business Studies Students in Junior Secondary Schools
If a test does not provide the information required to achieve the purpose for which it was meant for, then it is an exercise in futility. One method of testing which can achieve the desirable objectives is the continuous assessment test which has various strengths over the conventional one-shot examination. The learners need to be tested in order to quantify their capability and ability to learn.
There is need to ascertain the amount of knowledge, concept, ideas and skills they can recall from what they have learnt, awaken the consciousness of a learner to the fact that he/she was taught.
Without tests, obviously learners will not learn effectively or seriously and no matter how good, effective and efficient a teacher may be, if the learner has no opportunity to practice, read over and provide whatever he has been taught, learning would appeal not to have taken place, hence the need for continuous assessment in schools. It is therefore hoped that the assessment of the impact posed by continuous assessment on academic performance of adult and non-formal education students will contribute significantly in this respect.
Business Studies is an important course which prepares students for the challenges of the 21st century by introducing them to the world of business. Okwikigwe (2013) considered business studies as the key agent of economic and technological development either as a way of developing human capacity or ability. It increases the shield of work force for modernization, industrialization and environmental development and if as a matter of personal freedom and empowerment of the populace.
Okpada (2015) noted that business studies plays a significance role in the economic development by providing knowledge and skills to the learners, thereby enabling them to adequately impact knowledge to others, handling and having a lot of office technologies experience and information systems. The goal of business studies is primarily to produce competent, skillful and dynamic business studies teachers, office administrators and businessmen and women that will effectively compete in the world of work. It has its primary aim, the preparation of people for roles in enterprises, such roles could be as employees, entrepreneur and employer or simply as self employed individual.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
For some times now, many patriotic citizens of our society have been viewing with serious concern the poor performance of Business Studies in examinations.
The academic performance of Business Studies in Junior secondary schools in Oruk Anam have revealed some problems such as poor reading culture and study habit of the learners, inadequate preparation and high dependence on conventional one-shot examination without taking part in continuous assessment which enable learners to discover their learning difficulties with a view to overcoming them, providing information to learners progress, and helping them to judge their own learning.
Moreover, the available data have shown that little or no research has been conducted on continuous assessment and academic performance of students in Business Studies (Ezeoke, 2016). It is on the expectation that continuous assessment could exert an influence on the academic performance of students in Business studies thereby resulting into poor performance. It is as a result of the above reasons that the researcher is motivated to conduct a study on continuous assessment and academic performance of Business Studies Students in Junior Secondary schools in Oruk Anam Local Government Area.