Outcomes-based assessment for South African teachers

The adoption of the Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) curriculum in South Africa has caused much confusion and frustration among teachers, particularly with regard to the implementation of Outcomes-Based Assessment (OBA). Not all teachers have been adequately prepared for this didactic paradigm shift – something that has serious implications for effective teaching and learning, and which may become a major obstacle in the attainment of the critical educational outcomes that the education authorities have set for South Africa. Outcomes-Based Assessment for South African teachers therefore introduces the theoretical underpinnings of OBE and OBA and provides useful guidelines in terms of practical application in the classroom.
Outcomes-Based Assessment examines OBA in all phases of education, and highlights the problems that educators experience. It deals with each of the stages, with practical examples: planning and preparation, implementation and analysis, and the recording and reporting of assessment. It concludes with a summary of current thinking about the way forward for OBE and OBA in South African schools.
Outcomes-Based Assessment is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate education students. It will also be particularly useful to prospective and in-service educators as an introduction to a field which dominates the entire educational system in South Africa at primary, secondary and tertiary educational levels.