Investigation of the Roles of Continuous Assessment Towards Student’s Performance in Secondary School National Examinations: A Case of Mpwapwa District Council - Dodoma Region.

Abstract

Students’ assessments determine the understanding of individual student on what he or she is taught together with its application. The understanding contradiction has influenced the researchers to undertake the study which examined the role of continuous assessments towards student’s performance in secondary school national examinations in Tanzania. Data were collected from the field by using documentary review method where by the results of 250 students in the internal and National examinations were rationally reviewed and analyzed. The study considered only five secondary schools and the findings showed that the internal examinations can predict the performance of students in their national examinations for some extent. The internal examinations alone cannot predict the performance of students in their national examinations as there are other factors which can also predict the performance of students in their national examinations including competence of teachers, availability of teaching and learning materials, the time spent by the students themselves for self-studying as well as the quality of learning infrastructures like libraries and laboratories. At the end of the process, the study recommended that; students should devote much of their time for searching knowledge; parents or guardians should support their teenagers by enhancing basic needs to them constantly as well as making regular follow up of the performance of their children in both internal and national examinations. During conduct of internal examinations and other forms of continuous assessments; teachers should treat their students as if they had never known each other as it is the practice of National examination council of Tanzania. Finally the government through ministry of education and vocational training should ensure that the learning materials are available in secondary schools throughout the entire country.