Secondary mathematics is required to contribute to
the established objectives of elementary education. This is why it becomes
clearer for any country which longs for national growth in science, industries
and technology not to neglect mathematics (Iji, 2007). In regards to this, the
Federal Government of Nigeria (1982), identified the following as the general
objectives for Nigerian secondary school mathematics:
1. The inculcation of permanent literacy and numeracy
and the ability to communicate effectively.
2. The laying of a sound basis for scientific and
reflective thinking.
3. Citizenship education as a basis for effective
participation in the contribution to the life of the society.
4. Character and moral training and the development
of sound attitude.
5. Developing in the child, the ability to adapt to
his changing environment.
6. Giving the child opportunities for developing
manipulative skills that will enable him to function effectively in the society
within the limits of his capacity.
7. Providing basic tools for further educational
advancement including preparation for trades and crafts of the locality.
With these objectives and objectives
in mind, Ezike and Obodo (1991), Okurumeh (1991) summarized the secondary
mathematics education objectives as follows
1. To develop a kind of competence in the basic
skills and understanding for dealing with number and form.
2. To understand mathematics concepts such as
mathematical process, facts or principles.
3. To develop a habit of effective critical thinking
which will lead to effective and objective thinking.
Assessment Defined
Assessment
is the systematic process of organizing, measuring information or data into
interpretable forms on a number of variables (Okpala, Onocha & Oyedeji,
1993). They also stated that, “it is the testing of the cognitive ability of
students”.
According
to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2010), assessment refers to the
act of judging or forming an opinion about the actions, performance of
somebody. Assessment therefore can be seen in school process such as teaching,
teachers/students interactions, school management, the plan and design of the
curriculum as well as physical infrastructure.
As
defined by Palomba and Banta (2012), assessment is the systematic collection,
review and use of information about educational programme undertaken for the
purpose of improving students’ learning and development. They further stated
that it is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student
learning which involves making our expectations explicit and public setting
appropriate as well as criteria and high standards for learning quantity. So,
systematically gathering, analyzing and interpreting evidence to determine how
well performance matches those expectations and standards and using the
resulting information to document explains and improve performance.
Onwuegbu
and Okobia (2000) stated that assessment involves the utilization of many
assessment instruments at a predetermined interval to find out what the learner
has achieved in teaching process in terms of cognitive, affective and
psychomotor domain.
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