Basic School Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment in the Sissala East Municipality

This study employed a sequential explanatory mixed-method design to examine basic school teachers’ classroom assessment conceptions in the Sissala East Municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana. In particular, the study examined the types of classroom assessment conceptions of teachers and their demographic characteristics that influence their assessment conceptions. Quantitative data gathered from 203 respondents were analyzed using mean, standard deviations and Pearson product-moment correlation. In the follow-up qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 participants and the data subjected to interpretive thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the participants demonstrated positive conceptions of assessment as a means for ensuring student and school accountability as well as improving teaching and learning, with assessment for student accountability yielding the highest mean value. Also, the findings revealed that the relationships among student accountability, school accountability and improvement were moderate and that these levels have a positive effect on one another. It was recommended, among other issues, that teachers need to note that assessment is acceptable if motivated by a particular reason, whether it is for improvement, student accountability, or school accountability.