The education system has constantly reflected the relevance of continuous assessment of students because of its capacity to allow trajectory of academic progress of students. Through evaluation, champions of education encourage that students be availed with this platform to receive consistent guidance on how to best achieve academic success. Faustin Mutabazi, the chief executive officer at Educational Consultancy Bureau, an organisation that supports education and curriculum activities, says if possible, the assessment of students should be done on a monthly basis. He notes that some schools teach their students without considering the heft of the curriculum especially in the countryside. “This becomes hard for them to know the right time and how often they should evaluate their students. But if this is done often, it becomes easier for teachers to know if their students have understood concepts of the respective subjects or topics,” he says. Mutabazi says when students are trained to get used to such examination assessments; they also take time to revise especially when they are at home. “It’s not easy for students to do their revision during their free time when they are at home. In most cases they spend that time watching or using social media depending on their age, but when they have things to work on; they can then spend that time reading because they know they will be having their tests,” he says. Mutabazi also says when the evaluation is done often; learners get over their fear for exams. John Nzayisenga, director of Harvest School in Kigali says while such tests are done, there should even be awarding best performers and also find a way of encouraging those who haven’t done well. This, he says helps to encourage learners to work hard. “For those who don’t perform well, through support from their teachers, assessments can give them room to improve.” Mutabazi also believes that during this time, it’s ideal for schools to evaluate the performance of teachers as well. “Because the teacher is the implementer of the curriculum, therefore, it is important that they are evaluated as well.” Motivates students Nzayisenga notes that by evaluating students regularly, it’s just one way of asking students to demonstrate their understanding of what they learn. He says this is critical when it comes to the entire learning process. “It is essential to evaluate learners to know if they are able to think critically and analyse everything they are being taught, and this can only happen if they get evaluated every now and then,” he says. He adds that this is the key component of learning because it helps students learn and understand things easier. “When students are able to see how they are performing, they are able to understand how they are doing with certain subjects and this can only be observed this through numerous examinations,” he says. Apart from that, Proffessor Alphonse Uworwayeho, a mathematics lecturer says it’s through assessment that students get motivated. He therefore says that as educators, they should provide evidence that what they are teaching is impacting their students, and this can be done through assessments. Uworwayeho says that what is needed is for schools to come up with different ways of assessing their students putting into consideration their different levels for this will help them know when and how learners should be evaluated and on what exactly. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
