Assessing H.E Coursework in Senior Secondary Schools in Botswana

The aim of this research was to explore how examiners achieve and maintain high quality assessment during marking and moderation of the BGCSE (Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education) Home Economics coursework in Botswana. In 2000, localization of the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC) to the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) took place as per the recommendations of the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) document. This new certificate system, marked locally, allows for varied modes of assessment, with more emphasis being placed on continuous assessment. In addition the assessment is school-based, with teachers centrally involved. However, implementation of this new assessment approach exposed, among other challenges, challenges in establishing dependability of teachers’ assessment, possible increase in teacher workload, teachers’ lack of expertise and confidence in undertaking the assessment scheme. This book should provide useful knowledge for examiners and all those involved in assessment as well as being a handy reference material for the practising educationist in any adminstrative capacity.