The quality of education in Botswana is not yet up to standard as there has been emphasis
on attainment of Universal Basic Education. Quality in education encompasses a number
of factors such as the development of the relevant curriculum, improvement of teacher
preparation, development of appropriate learning materials, and improving the methods
of assessing pupils (Grisay & Mählck, 1991, cited in Kellaghan & Geaney, 2003). The
quality of what is going on in the classroom is judged by the processes and outcomes that
are defined qualitatively.
Assessment in Agriculture in Botswana senior schools comprises performance
assessment and standardised paper-and-pencil tests. Performance assessment contributes
only 20% (MoE&SD;, 2001.p.6) yet it is allocated more time than paper-and-pencil tests.
The aim of the study therefore was to understand and explore the characteristics and
quality processes needed in the performance assessment of Agriculture Form Four
students to ensure valid and reliable examinations in Botswana.
The study was guided by two research questions. The first research question was: How
valid and reliable are the performance assessment processes in Botswana schools? This
research question sought to understand how performance assessment was conducted in
Botswana schools, and how it compared with the international practice. The second
research question was: How can quality assurance processes be developed in order to
produce valid and reliable marks for BGCSE Agriculture performance assessment? The
intention was to develop quality processes for performance assessment in the context of
Form Four Agriculture in Botswana, to ensure valid and reliable marks for certification.
A design research was employed in this study in which a baseline survey was conducted
and based on the outcome, a quality assurance process was designed which included the
development of standard tasks and assessment materials. During the baseline survey,
teachers and school administrators completed a questionnaire and were also interviewed.
Subsequently, prototypes of exemplar materials were developed iteratively in
collaboration with practitioners and formatively evaluated. Feedback from evaluation was
incorporated into the redesign and development of successive prototypes.