Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Assessment Practices of Public Primary School Mathematics Teachers in Abuja, Nigeria

The central problem this study examined are the gaps in assessment practices of public primary school mathematics educators in Abuja, Nigeria. The study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the assessment approaches adopted by the teachers, using mathematics as the focal subject. Purposive sampling was used to select 115 primary school mathematics teachers from 11 schools in Abuja. Nine of these participated in the interview stage. The research targeted to determine whether or not a formative assessment strategy had any significant influence on learners’ learning outcomes. The study used a triangulation approach which is a single-phase design in which statistical analysis and narrative interpretation were conducted in about similar amounts within the same time frame. The qualitative approach was useful for collecting and understanding the views of the mathematics teachers on assessment. The quantitative approach helped in retrieving demographic data and collecting general views about assessment. Questionnaires and semi-formal interviews served as a means of collecting data for the study. Documentary evidence also helped to confirm the questionnaire and semi-interview data. Descriptive statistics was used in representing questionnaire data while content analysis was employed to interpret the qualitative data. The results revealed that while the assessment methods already in use by the primary school mathematics teachers yielded average to above average outcomes, there was room for improvement. Furthermore, the public primary school mathematics teachers rely almost exclusively on summative assessment practices and know very little or nothing about the implementation of formative assessment strategies leading to gaps in the assessment practices of these teachers. The study also confirmed that the application of a formative assessment approach can enhance student learning and learning outcomes. The study went on to recommend expeditious adjustments in the areas of teacher and student training, curriculum development, decision making, policy review and research. It also recommends a multifaceted assessment approach which integrates features of both summative and formative assessments.