Abstract

Low-achieving students generally perform below average in school subjects and research has shown that this may not be unconnected with the level of their study habit. Research has shown that continuous assessment can help improve students’ performance in school subjects and as well as their study  habits. However, little attention has been paid to finding out the extent to which continuous assessment practice can help improve the performance of low-achieveing students in physics. It is against this background that, in this study, the author examined the effect of continuous assessment practice on the performance of low-achieving students in physics as well as their study habit. Four hundred and ninety-eight students who were randomly selected from four senior secondary schools in Ona Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria participated in the study. Six intact science classes were used. However, based on the Physics scores of the 498 students in the previous school-based examinations, 113 students whose scores were below 40 % were identified and denoted as low-achieving students. There were two groups: Continuous Mode of Assessment Group and Conventional Mode of Assessment Group. The study lasted six weeks. In the continuous assessment group, the treatments included classroom instructions, end of the leasson assignment and four weekly tests. In the conventional group, there were classroom instructions and end of the lesson assignments too. However there was one monthly test. Three instruments, namely, Classroom Teaching Guide (CAG), Physics Achievement Test (PAT) and Study Habit Questionnaire (SHQ), were used. Data obtained were analysed using Analysis of Covariance. Results showed that the performance in PAT of low-achieving students in the experimental group improved considerably and better than their colleagues in the control group. The study habits of the low-achieving students in the experimental group also improved and better than the low-achieving students in the control group. The results of this study show that giving weekly tests and assignments can be used to improve the performance of low-achieving students in physics as well as improve their study habits. Therefore physics teachers should give weekly tests and assignments to their students. This can help improve their performance in physics as well as their study habits.