Continuous Assessment System

1. Continuous Assessment
System (CAS)
Presenter: Sandip Dhungana
Course: EDMT 543
Kathmandu University

2. What is assessment?
• The word 'assessment' came into use in an educational
context after the Second World War.
• The process of gathering and discussing the achievement
of learners
• Why assessment?...To know the level of competencies of
any learners

3. What is Continuous Assessment?
• It is an approach that teacher can apply to collect, interpret and synthesize
information about students. (Airasian, 1991)
• Include a regular assessment of students’ affective structures and motivation.
(Baker and Stites, 1991)
• Method of ascertaining what students gains from schooling in terms of
knowledge, industry and character development (Onuka, 2005, 2006)

4. Continue…
• A mechanism which takes account of cognitive, affective and
psychomotor domains of learning during a given period of
schooling. (Anikweze, 2005)
• CAS listen close to students and tries to understand, what they
have understand. (Onuka, 2006; Stiggins, 1994)
• Information gathering tool that helps teacher select content and
method of instruction. (Nitko, 2004)

5. Purpose of CAS
• Diagnostic
• Teaching Methodology
• Motivation
• Formative and Summative
• Evaluation

6. How to achieve the purpose?
• Required complex thinking skills
• Different tests forms and situations according to the topics
• Teacher assistance and remediation
• Longer time for collecting assessment information

7. Characteristics of CAS
Systematic
Comprehensive
Cumulative
Guidance oriented

8. Techniques of CAS
Questions and answers in the lesson
Tests and Quizzes
Classwork and Homework
Project works for individual and group
Revising the assessment if necessary

9. Advantages of CAS (Alemu, 2013)
• Data gathering over a long period of time
• Modify instruction
• Diagnosing and remediating
• Teacher is at the center of all performance assessment activities
• Used to inform and guide instruction for individual learners
• Good relation between teacher and students

10. Problem of Implementing CAS in School
Lack of sufficient time in classroom
Lack of essential materials and tools of CAS
Teachers inadequate knowledge of CAS
Mixed ability of students in class
Adaption of change
Overpopulation

11. Evaluation Practice in School Level in Nepal
• Grade 1-3,
• Continuous Assessment System
(CAS) - 100%
• liberal Promotion
• Evaluation as a tool for learning
and improvement
• Grade 4-5,
• Continuous Assessment System (CAS)
- 50%
• liberal Promotion
• Evaluation as a tool for learning and
improvement and grading students
• Grade 6-7: 40% CAS, 60% examination
• Grade 8 : CAS for improvement, 100% DLE
• Grade 9 : CAS for Improvement, 100% Examination
• Grade 10: CAS and SEE
• Grade 11: Internal and National Examination
• Grade 12: Internal and National Examination from NEB

12. Principle of CAS in Nepal
• Teaching Methodology is students centered not class based.
• All the learning outcomes of the curriculum are used as the basis
of the teaching and assessment of the students.
• The class teacher assess the students along with teaching on a
continuous basis. There is no separate periodical examination.
• The class teacher keeps the progress record using specific set of
learning outcome indicator.

13. Problems in Implementing CAS in Nepal
Most of the schools are practicing periodic assessment system
like terminal and annual examination which could not evaluate
students‟ writing progress regularly because of teachers‟ less
concern to implement the CAS.
Assessment tools like class tests are used to judge learners‟
progress but other effective tools of CAS like portfolio
maintenance, self-correction and classroom participation are less
focused.

14. Continue…
In continuous assessment, schools are more focusing to the
students‟ gradation rather than providing suggestive feedbacks
for the improvement of learners‟ writing ability.
All basic level teachers could not get fully support from the
concern authorities like School Supervisors, Resource Person (RP)
and Head teachers to implement CAS in any classes.

15. Finding and Conclusion on CAS in Nepal
• Dropout and attendance situation in the CAS piloted schools did
not improve.
• The CDC officers who were directly involved in CAS did not
believe on children’s less experience and practice about
examination system.
• Not able to show any fixed trend in the improvement of student’s
achievement.

16. Continue…
• Lack of regular and proper monitoring of the CAS program.
• Lack of responsibility feeling on the part of all stakeholders.
• Teachers did not use the information received from CAS for the
improvement of instruction. They used it for upgrading purpose
not for formative purpose.

17. Visual Summary…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEkV1NK6-p4

18. References:
• Airasian, P. W. (1991). Classroom assessment. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Baker, E. L., & Stites, R. (1991).Trends in testing in the USA.Politics of
Education Association yearbook. London: Taylor & Francis. Bayo
• Nitko , A.J.(2004). Educational Assessment of Students. 4th ed. Ohio:
Merrill Prentice Hall.
• Onuka A (2005). Improving Students‟ Performance through Feedback Mechanism
in Secondary Schools. Ibadan, University of Ibadan.
• Onuka,A (2006) Continuous Assessment as an Instrument of Achieving Learning
Objectives. Unpublished Research Report, Ibadan, University of Ibadan.

19. References, continue…
• Stiggins R J (1994). Students- Centered Classroom Assessment. New York
Merrill/Macmillan.
• Anikweze, CM (2005). Assessment and the future of schooling and learning.
A paper presented at the 31st Annual Conference of the
International Association for Educational Assessment. Abuja,
Nigeria 4th – 9th.
• Birhanu, M. (2013). Continuous assessment issues and practices in secondary
schools of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia: the “big picture” of assessment
mechanism. Paljo Journal of Education Research. Nov, 14, 2013.

20. Thank You!!!