Secondary Science Students’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Case Study in Fiji

Early research on classroom assessment has shown that the student's voice is conspicuously lacking in the literature. Although recent studies have shown an emergence in students’ conceptions of assessment, very little substantial research has been done in the Fiji Islands. Therefore, this study examined how Fijian secondary science students felt about current assessment methods and which ones they valued the most. This study was guided by sociocultural theory, which emphasizes teacher-student interaction, making it appropriate for science learning and assessment, and the measurement theory, since Fijian secondary schools conduct standardized testing. In this interpretive study, 60 secondary science students volunteered to participate and share their experiences with current assessment methods. In this case study, data was collected using semi-structured interviews, and content analysis was used to evaluate the results. This qualitative study found that science students have multiple conceptions of current assessment methods and prefer formative assessment to summative assessment. Because it offers guidelines on how assessments should be utilized in classrooms and how students learn best, this study is helpful to both students and secondary science teachers. To raise student achievement, the study suggests that further research be done on the effective use of alternative types of formative assessment.