Investigation of the Roles of Continuous Assessment Towards Students’ Performance in Secondary School National Examinations

Abstract

Purpose: This paper has investigated the role of continuous assessments towards students’ performance in secondary school national examinations in Tanzania. Design/ Methodology/ approach: The study used a quantitative approach and a survey design was deployed to collect secondary data. The data were collected from the field by using the documentary review method whereby the results of 250 students in the internal and National examinations were rationally reviewed and analyzed. Findings: The findings of this study revealed that the internal examinations can predict the performance of students in their national examinations to some extent. In like with that, students’ performance is also attributed to the competence of teachers, availability of teaching and learning materials, the time spent by the students themselves for self-studying and the quality of learning infrastructures like libraries and laboratories. Research Limitation/ Implications: The study investigated the roles of continuous assessment towards students’ performance in secondary school national examinations only in the Mpwapwa district out of 126 districts in Tanzania. Practical Implication: The study informed education stakeholders about the contributing factors towards excellent and quality education in secondary schools. This study, therefore, poses a challenge to all education stakeholders not to rely on only the performance of students in their internal examinations in predicting their future performance in their national examinations as there are other factors. Social Implication: Society knew its role in the preparation of children for better performance in their national examination which results from excelling in their internal examination. Originality/ Value: The study has put open the roles and obligations of every education stakeholder towards students’ performance in their national examination. In line with that, the study has identified the role of the government of Tanzania in secondary schools specifically creating a favorable learning environment as a means of raising students’ performance in their national examination.