Students’ Assessment Procedures in the Agricultural Education Undergraduate Program: The Botswana College of Agriculture Experience

The purpose of the study was to describe through the review of relevant literature sources the undergraduate BSC degree program in agricultural education and the level and students’ assessment procedures in the Botswana College of Agriculture. The findings show that the Botswana College of Agriculture offers core, optional and general education courses in the agricultural education undergraduate BSC degree program that are relevant to the socio-economic development needs of Botswana. The college also uses a variety of procedures for assessing students achievement in the program by: (1) having a balanced curriculum that clearly specifies testing and assessment procedures and strategies, (2) making assessment and testing procedures consistent with the objectives of the program and course offered, (3) having a variety of tests to allow for a range of different learning outcomes to be assessed, (4) setting a detailed, justifiable and transparent criteria for assessment, and (5) minimizing the number of tests and assessment as the college considers too much assessment and testing to be counter productive. The study recommended that agricultural educators maximize stakeholders’ involvement in the development of the assessment plans that reflect the uniqueness of the program, national education policies, vision and mission.