An Investigation into Teachers’ Concerns About the Continuous Assessment Component of the Secondary Entrance Assessment at a Primary School in the Port of Spain Education District

Abstract

This study investigated four teachers’ concerns about the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) of the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination at a primary school in Trinidad and Tobago. Data were collected through interviews. The findings revealed that the teachers had mixed feelings about the CAC. While they appreciated the concept of the CAC, they expressed concerns about the inadequacy of training and the marginalization of their role in the planning process by the Ministry of Education. It was also found that the teachers were constrained by insufficient time for teaching and assessing new content areas, as well as by inadequately trained monitors and the cramped physical infrastructure of the school.