LIMITATIONS OF THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION AS A STANDARDISED TEST:
According to Collett (2007) and Yasukawa et al. (2017), assessment is the systematic process of obtaining empirical data on students’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs in order to evaluate programmes, enhance learning outcomes, or certify people to assist them in pursuing further education or employment. It is also viewed as an ongoing process that offers students plenty of learning opportunities to produce the intended learning outcomes through quantifiable and obvious learning outcomes.Regular student evaluations known as “school-based assessments” are planned and carried out by teachers in many schools across the nation (Longjohn & Audu, 2020). The ability to graduate or be selected is dependent on exam scores, which are significant in Ghana because they are added and weighted as continuous evaluation marks. The results are frequently used by educators, parents, and students to improve teaching and learning (Chea & Ogawa, 2020).School-based evaluations are incredibly flexible and trustworthy (Longjohn & Audu, 2020). The primary issue with intra- or school-based assessments is that they are not transferable to other schools. Standardised tests, which are typically given by an examination body, for instance the West African Examination Council (WAEC), or the examination body which carries out the teachers’ licensure examination are an alternative means of assessing students in Ghana.Nonetheless, there are a number of drawbacks to using standardised tests to assess students’ academic achievement (Application & 2014, 2014; Enquiry & 2000, 2000; Goldstein & Spiegelhalter, 1996; Leckie et al., 2010; Vidaver-Cohen, 2007). According to Mckeon (2022), one of the things that has kept low-income students from obtaining equal opportunities in the classroom for decades is standardised testing.Additionally, students from low-income backgrounds have suffered greatly as a result of standardised testing (Mckeon, 2022). Mckeon continued, “These tests contribute to the preservation of the minority status that students from low-income households currently possess.”Other disadvantages of standardized testing are: Major stress may result from it. That is, students experience pressure when it comes to doing well on tests. Examination results might also impact a student’s confidence. Students may then grow dissatisfied with education and have low self-esteem as a result of this. Besides, instead of helping students learn a subject more thoroughly, teachers can find themselves “teaching to the exam.”Additionally, this creates a boring learning environment in the classroom, which may make it harder for students to learn. Additionally, standardised tests rate student achievement without accounting for external factors. Not taken into consideration are the facts that others are very smart but just do poorly on standardised tests, as well as factors like test anxiety and their home environment. When a student is evaluated, it only considers their performance on a single test; it does not consider how much they have learned over time (Pros & Cons of Standardised Tests – GradePower Learning, n.d.).In conclusion, standardized tests such as licensure examination may provide a singular opportunity to compare the performance of prospective teachers from the various teacher training institutions according to a pre-determined standard, but the disadvantages are so many to ignore. It is the writer’s considered view that the National Teaching council and the Ghana Tertiary Commission should be resourced to enable them ensure compliance of the national teachers standards across the teacher training institutions at entry and during training, so that trainees who pass their examinations and graduate are given a license. The national Teaching Council ( NTC) could register and continue to monitor for compliance of the teachers’ standards and also provide opportunities for teachers continuous professional development.
DR. ISSAHAQUE MUNAWARU
munawaru@edubusconsult.org
