Experiences of secondary school management teams in the implementation of continuous assessment

Abstract

The 1994 democratic elections marked a great turning point in the history the of the South African education system. A call from many politicians and academics for dismantling apartheid education which was racially biased was subsequently made. This was supported by theorists and educational reformers such as Darling-Hammond (1996) and Sizer (1984) who suggested that an educational transformation that would provide South African learners with the necessary knowledge and skills to think critically was required. Following this call, in 1997, a National Curriculum Statement (NCS), with its accompanying assessment policy in a form of continuous assessment (CASS), was introduced in South African schools. This study focuses on the experiences of secondary schools management teams (SMT) in the implementation of continuous assessment. This study is informed by the findings of Chisholm (2001) and Jansen&Christie (1995) who contend that the hasty implementation of CASS was extremely problematic for school managers. The objective was to explore the role of principals, deputy principals, and heads of departments (as managers of schools) in the implementation of the continuous assessment policy. Furthermore, the study aimed to investigate the kind of support the Limpopo Department of Education provides to the SMT for the successful implementation of CASS. The study was conducted in six secondary schools in the Malamulele East Circuit, Vhembe District in Limpopo Province in the following schools: Deliwe, Dlayani, Falaza Gembani, Ndhengeza, and Yollisa and it employed a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured individual interviews were used to collect data from principals, deputy principals and heads of departments. In addition, semi-structured focus-group interviews were conducted with heads of departments in order to get in-depth understanding with regard to their experiences when implementing a continuous assessment policy. This study found that members of the SMT in many secondary schools in the Malamulele East Circuit did not receive training for the implementation of continuous assessment and as a result, they lack clarity in many critical aspects of this assess1nent policy. It has further been found that the majority of the members of the SMT lack a conceptual understanding of what CASS is and also the role they are supposed to play in its implementation. Consequently, educators are still relying much on tests to judge the performance of the learners. In the light of this, it is therefore recommended that principals, deputy principals and heads of departments be provided with extensive training which would generate a deeper conceptual understanding of this assessment policy. Copyright