Assessment strategies for promoting higher order thinking skills in public secondary schools

Abstract

In an increasingly complex and specialized society, it is imperative that individuals think critically and creatively.This kind of thinking is required to achieve ther outcomes as stated in the Nigerian National Policy on Education. This stucfy aimed at finding out how teachers in Nigerian public secondary schools use assessment to promote higher order thinking in learners. The study also critically examined the assessment strategies and tools used by secondary school teachers and the questioning methods they adopt their classrooms. The study looked into how teachers planned and organized tasks that promote critical thinking. Attempts were made to establish relationship among gender, education qualification and teaching , experience of teachers in their ability to use assessment to promote higher order thinking in thier classroom interaction. The study investigated secondary school teachers' knowledge of assessment strategies that promote higher order thinking in learners. Three hundred teachers randomly selected from twenty public secondary schools within the eleven local government areas in Ibadan metropolis were involved. The sample comprised if 154 male teachers and 146 female teachers. One instrument; Assessment Practice Questionnaire was developed and used by the researcher to derive information from teachers in secondary schools. The results showed that teachers have limited knowledge about alternative assessment strategies that promote higher order thinking. The assessment strategies employed by teachers are mainly traditional assessment strategies. It seemed, that higher order thinking like application, analysis and evaluation were rarely used.