Assessment of Students: From Forum Post to Open Questions...

T he Covid-19 pandemic has not only imposed online learning, but also the manner in which students are assessed after each lesson. The objective has also been to evaluate and improve on student’s understanding of any subject. Before now, depending on the subject, teachers usually carried out the face-to-face question-and-answer session with students in various classrooms. This was to measure the extent to which students understood a subject. With the digitalisation of the education sector, online learning has brought in different assessment methods via forum posts, online quizzes and open-ended questions. According to a Literature in English Teacher at the Government Bilingual High School Nkol-Eton in Yaounde, Ebot Constance Agbor, online assessments go beyond grades. Since the practice of online learning, Constance Ebot says she created a WhatsApp group through which she assesses her students. After students have directly interacted with lesson notes on the distance learning center created by the Ministry of Secondary Education, Constance Ebot says she uses the WhatsApp forum for a questionand-answer session on the subject matter. “Students ask questions and I provide the answers. I also ask them questions then receive the answers in my inbox before sending a proposed answer to the general forum to ensure everyone is on the same page,” Ebot Constance Agbor explained. According to a High School Teacher at the Government High School Odza, Estelle Feudjio Fifenn, after any online course, teachers evaluate learners in a formative way through assignments at the end of each topic. Such assignments can be corrected through face-to-face lessons in the classrooms or through any online medium. Through such exercises, Estelle Feudjio Fifenn says teachers can assess to know if the lessons have been effectively assimilated by students. There is also the summative asse...