STUDENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM AT SECONDARY LEVEL – A CRITIQUE

Student assessment is the pivotal piece around which school improvement take place. Today passing an examination is prioritized to acquiring knowledge. It is widely felt that unless major efforts are made to overhaul the existing system of examinations, it will not be possible to carry out any major reform or qualitative improvement. This paper critically analyses the prevailing system of student assessment at secondary level of schooling. This paper is an integral part of the doctoral dissertation – ‘A study of Management Practices of Secondary Schools’. A sample of 188 secondary schools from Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh in India, were sampled and the primary data was collected through self designed questionnaire and interview schedules. The findings reveal a strong association between the type of school management and their preference for revamping the prevailing system.