Teachers’ Perspectives of the Introduction of School Based Assessment (SBA) in Mathematics in Trinidad and Tobago

• In Event: Teaching and Learning Perspectives and Practices: Empowering Teachers and Learners in Nigeria, South Africa, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent

Abstract

In 2016 the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), the external examining body for Trinidad and Tobago, implemented a School Based Assessment (SBA) component in its assessment of ordinary level Mathematics. This new assessment entails the creation of a project investigating real-world scenarios using mathematical content taught in the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics syllabus. Students must complete the project during their two-year preparation for the written component of the Mathematics. Teachers are required to co-design with students, monitor, and score the SBA projects, which contribute 20% to students’ overall grade. The syllabus rationalised the introduction of the SBA as an attempt to address low performance and low-order skills, and to provide teachers a role in the teaching and learning of Mathematics (CXC, 2016).

The objectives of this study are to explore the perspectives of secondary school teachers’ on: (1) the overall nature of the newly introduced school-based assessment component of the CSEC Mathematics; (2) how the school-based assessment component will affect the teaching and learning processes; and (3) the types of challenges they anticipated in the on-going implementation of the school-based assessment component.

This topic aligns with the AERA 2018 conference theme on public education because the SBA is a mandatory component of student assessment in their exit examination at the secondary level in Trinidad and Tobago, and the wider Caribbean. Thus, interrogating this topic has implications for improving the quality of teaching and learning in the mathematics classroom, and for improving student assessment so that they benefit from the exercise of assessment, beyond assigning them pass or fail status. In this regard, we embarked on framing our theoretical ideologies along the impact of the implemented SBA on the teaching and learning of mathematics in Trinidad and Tobago.

Authors

• Sharon Jacqueline Jaggernauth, The University of the West Indies

• Anjani Garibsingh, The University of the West Indies - St. Augustine

• Andrew Anthony Hunte, The University of Trinidad and Tobago