Wrong assessment on new curriculum unsettles Uneb
The old curriculum was objective based with emphasis on knowledge acquisition with the teacher at the centre of the teaching and learning process while the new curriculum is competence based, with the learner at the centre of learning. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The findings indicated that instead of challenging students with higher-order questions that require critical thinking, teachers have continued to set questions based on the old curriculum.
With just six weeks remaining before pioneer students sit for the first set of exams under the new lower secondary curriculum, a study by the Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) has revealed that most teachers across the country have been presenting students with outdated questions during assessment.
The findings indicated that instead of challenging students with higher-order questions that require critical thinking, teachers have continued to set questions based on the old curriculum.
This situation has raised concerns among experts, who fear that candidates may struggle to interpret and respond to the questions accurately, given the fact that Uneb will base the upcoming examinations on the new competency-based curriculum.
While releasing the findings on the implementation of the new competence-based curriculum in lower secondary schools at their offices in Kyambogo yesterday, Mr Rogers Karuhanga, one of the lead researchers, highlighted that teachers’ assessment methods did not align with the competence-based curriculum.
The results showed that 59 percent of teachers asked their students lower-order thinking questions, while only 41 percent posed higher-order thinking questions.
Additionally, 69 percent of teachers relied on traditional paper-and-pencil assessment methods commonly used in schools, which encouraged students to memorise their class notes—a practice deemed crucial for passing exams, but not aligned with the new curriculum’s goals.
“The findings indicate that most teachers are not asking questions that meet the requirements of Competence-Based Assessment, where higher-order thinking questions should be prioritized over lower-order ones,’’ Mr Karuhanga said.
According to the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) Lower Secondary Learning Framework (2020), students must be asked questions that reflect knowledge, skills, creativity and attitudes.
Experts have warned that the upcoming exposure of students to the competence-based curriculum in October presents several risks if they continue to be assessed using outdated methods.
Students who have been primarily prepared with lower-order thinking questions and traditional assessments may struggle to adapt to the demands of the new curriculum, which emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and the application of knowledge.
This sudden shift could lead to confusion, anxiety, and poor performance during exams, as they may not be adequately equipped to tackle the higher-order thinking questions that will be required.
In an interview with the Daily Monitor, Uneb chairperson and former Vice Chancellor of Mbarara University of science and Technology, Prof Celestine Obua, acknowledged the severity of assessing learners using the old curriculum.
“We at Uneb are concerned, but the situation is not dire. We will conduct remedial training for teachers on how to assess their students using the materials we provided before the examinations,’’ Prof Obua said.
Trainings
Dr Tonny Muzaale, the director of research, said they have already begun training teachers on how to assess learners using higher-order questions and have covered most regions, with only the central region remaining.
“We conducted this research because we wanted to understand the ground realities before assessing our students. We identified gaps in the assessment process. This will, however, be rectified,’’ Dr Muzaale said.
The study, conducted between March and April this year, involved 300 randomly selected secondary schools across the country and sheds light on the challenges in implementing the competence-based curriculum nearly four years after its rollout.
A total of 731,038 individuals, including students, teachers, head teachers, and officials from the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) and Uneb, were interviewed. Other key findings indicated that despite the curriculum’s focus on developing skills and meeting learners’ needs, 129 schools that is 48 per cent of those surveyed, continue to employ the outdated teacher-centered approach.
