Challenges faced by Teachers in Conducting Classroom assessments in Secondary Schools: A Case of Kabwe District

The study sought to investigate the challenges faced by teachers in conducting classroom assessment in selected secondary schools in Kabwe District. The primary objectives of the study were: • To investigate the challenges that teachers face in their conduct of classroom assessment and their impact on teaching and learning in selected secondary schools in Kabwe District. • To suggest possible strategies to ameliorate the detrimental impact of the challenges on the teachers’ ability to conduct quality classroom assessment in selected secondary schools in Kabwe District. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and employed a concurrent embedded mixed methods approach. The sample size was 250 teachers, 10 head teachers, and eight Senior Education Standard Officers (SESOs). The collection of data was through self-administered questionnaires for teachers and in-depth interviews for both school head teachers and SESOs. The findings revealed that the major challenges were: Very large class sizes, curriculum bulky and outdated, most teachers unable to prepare formative assessments, inadequate teaching/learning materials, insufficient time for assessments, poor school infrastructure, inadequate support and guidance from the school administration, and undue pressure on teachers from the administration to produce good summative results. Concerning the impact of the challenges, the study concluded that teachers are forced to adopt mainly the simple, objective type teaching strategies, contrary to curriculum recommendation that they should use formative assessment (FA) methods. The study recommended school infrastructure up-grade; teacher in-service training through continuous professional development, seminars, and mentoring of newly qualified teachers; budgetary increase for schools; teachers to be accorded more time and latitude to conduct formative assessment; and serving teachers to be included when revising the curriculum; and reduce large classes to maximum 40 learners.