Students’ perception of assessment practices and academic performance in Science

This study explored how Grade 10 Science, Technology, and Engineering (STE) students perceive assessment practices in science and how these perceptions relate to their academic performance. The research aimed to answer questions about students’ personal profiles (age, gender, parents’ educational attainment, and family income), their science performance, their perceptions of assessment practices in terms of relevance, quality, and motivation, and the connections between these factors. Through surveys and second-quarter science scores, the study found that students generally had a positive opinion of the assessment practices. They described the assessments as engaging, well-structured, and closely connected to their lessons. However, most students only achieved “Satisfactory” scores, showing that there is still room for academic improvement.No student scored in the “Excellent” range, and a small number fell into the “Needs Improvement” category. The study also revealed no significant differences in students’ perceptions of assessment practices based on their profiles, such as age or gender. Students had positive views of the assessments, but these did not strongly affect their performance in science. The weak negative link suggests that other factors, like learning styles or outside influences, may play a bigger role in their success. Based on the findings, the study recommends improving assessment practices by including activities that build critical thinking skills. Extra support, such as tutoring or remedial lessons, or interventions can help struggling students improve. Giving clear feedback and adjusting teaching methods to meet theneeds of the students can make learning more effective. Regularly reviewing assessments is also important to keep improving the learning process.