Knowledge of Formative Assessment Practices among Senior High School Mathematics Teachers in Ghana

ABSTRACT: Formative assessment drives classroom instruction and provides learners opportunity to selfevaluate their strength and weaknesses regarding a particular concept. The purpose of the study was to investigate Senior High School (SHS) teachers’ knowledge of formative assessment. Descriptive cross-sectional survey was the design employed for the study. Census approach was used to involve 148 mathematics teachers in all the thirteen public SHS in the Cape Coast metropolis, Ghana who were the target population of the study. Questionnaire with close-ended items was developed for the data collection. It was revealed that majority of SHS mathematics teachers in the Cape Coast Metropolis had low knowledge in formative assessment practices.
Further, the findings indicated a strong positive relationship betweenSHS mathematics teachers’ knowledge of formative assessment and the practice of it.It is recommended that there should be regular workshop and inservice training programmes for SHS mathematics teachers on formative assessment practices by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Directorate of Education, Ghana Education Service.
KEYWORDS:Formative Assessment, Instruction, Feedback.