THE EFFECT OF PERIODIC TESTING ON STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT IN BUSINESS STUDIES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The National Policy on Education (1981) clearly emphasize that
“Education assessment and evaluation will be liberalized by basing them in whole or two part in continuous assessment of the progress of the individual”. The Nigeria educational system have been gravely tied to the western education, especially in the area of curriculum, as a result of which has dictated our method and system of evaluating students’ achievement and performance.
The need for a curriculum that will reflect the country’s need and aspiration necessitated the new Policy on Education Issued in (1977).
Education has been recognized all over the world a sure means to the achievement of more rapid transportation in any society. As a matter of fact the National Policy on Education in Nigeria attached great importance to the development of science and technology as a means of last narrowing the yearning technological differences now separating the developing nations of the world. These objectives can only be achieved through an effective science and social management. Supporting this view many educationist like Fafunwa (2004) and Ikejiani (2003) pointed out the obvious gap between the system output and the manpower demand by the nation. According to Adaralegbe (2005) the high demand rate has been observed to be based on the recognition by Nigeria that education, is the great for man’s economic progress and for his political survival.
It was unanimously expressed at the (1967) National Curriculum Conference held in Lagos that the curriculum hitherto used in secondary school, system was inadequate to meet up with a rapid technological changing world. Oyedeji (2005) define education as the aggregate of all the process by which a child or young adult develops the ability, attitude and other forms of behaviour which are positive value of the society in which he lives.
The secondary level of the New National Policy on Education has recently changed the fundamental structure of the secondary education, It has introduced new element into its curriculum for example there has been air introduction evaluation in that the instrument used by appropriate for the purpose of vocational course a deliberate shift in emphasis from literary to science oriented education, a method and introduction of continuous assessment. As a result of this Yoloye (2002) and Bajah (2001) reported that government has directed that continuous assessment should be used at all level of education for the evaluation of students.
In schools the teacher usually carries out assessment of learning for the basis of impression gained as their observed their pupils at work by various kind of that test given periodically.
Business study in particular is one of the pre-vocational subjects in the junior secondary school. It is offered as a unified or integrated subject comprises of office practice, commerce, book-keeping and account, shorthand and typewriting in order to offer an opportunity for gainful employment even without future studies alter’ the Junior Secondary School Course. The curriculum has been designed by tile Fanner Comparative Education Studies and Adaptation Centre (CESAC) to meet the requirement of the students in the new system. As it is been one of the key subject in school curriculum.