Public Secondary School Teachers’ Knowledge and Application of Formative Assessment in the Teaching of Mathematics in Benin Metropolis.

Abstract

Teaching and learning is incomplete without assessment. Mathematics, as a subject is indispensable because it forms the bedrock of the development of any nation, hence, it is made a core subject. For the teaching and learning of Mathematics to be effective and meaningful, the teachers must learn the art of formative assessment, which is ‘assessment as you go’. This study therefore, examined the knowledge and application of formative assessment in the teaching of Mathematics in public secondary schools in Benin Metropolis. To achieve it, three research questions were raised. The study adopted the survey research design, and the population of the study consisted of Mathematics teachers in Benin Metropolis, while the sample size was 188. A structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. It was validated by experts in Measurement and Evaluation, with a reliability index of 0.89. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and Chi-square statistics.  A normative mean of 32.50 and 37.50 was used to ascertain teachers’ knowledge and application of formative assessment. The findings revealed that the Mathematics teachers were knowledgeable in the art of formative assessment, but their application of it in teaching Mathematics was low. Also, only years of experience influenced the knowledge and application of formative assessment. It was recommended that the teachers should be trained on how to apply formative assessment in the teaching of Mathematics.