Teacher Capacity Building and Classroom Assessment for Sustainable Student Learning

Abstract

Education is a social institution and is subject to change in response to social dynamics. Because the teacher can
provide the much needed quality control devices through student assessment, he/she can be seen as the manager, motivator or
at best, the managing director and chief executive officer of the educational system. However, the Nigerian teacher is
incapacitated in many areas due to the nature of environment he/she operates. The most meaningful information for improving
instruction and providing clear and useful feedback to learners is collected daily in the classroom through classroom assessment
of the learners. There is a direct relationship between appropriate classroom assessment techniques and higher student
achievement, to the extent that when practiced effectively, can improved student learning. The academic imperative is for
teachers to renovate their professional competence and capacity to be able to respond to the dynamics of classroom
assessment. This paper therefore, discussed the status of Nigerian teacher and learning today, areas of capacity building for
teachers to be able to respond to challenges of classroom assessment, the relationship between classroom assessment and
improved student learning. It recommended among others, the training and retraining of teachers on newer methods/techniques
of classroom assessment and teachers sharing ideas with peers through teacher moderation (collective assessment of student
work).