**9.4 No response**

Tests 23.3%; each among these: Assignments, Simulations, and Investigations 3.3%; each among these: Debates and Roleplay 3% and all others 0%.

Most of the respondents 86.7% agreed that they adhere to the use of Alignment with the cognitive domain, Principles of assessment at 77%, Investigations at 66.7%, and Simulations at 63.3%. It was agreed that practical and hands-on approaches are some of the best instructional methodologies to enhance SL. Similarly, there can be no sufficient and proper sciences curriculum without experiments. Consequently, alignment with the cognitive domain and employment of the principles of assessment as strategies for assessment should be used for the promotion of science learning and science literacy.

#### *Promotion of Science Learning through Science Content and Practical Assessment DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105407*

When enquired, 50% of respondents agreed that debates are useful and effective methods of assessment, while 34% were neutral and 13% disagreed. Examinations and tests are an inescapable part of the assessment of the South African curriculum, and as such, it was expected that the approval rate would be relatively high, but they were low at 40% and 13.3%, respectively.

Neutral participants toward presentations, problem-solving, and experiments were relatively high at 70%, 60%, and 57%, respectively. This outcome although expected to be high, in science learning and teaching presentations, problem-solving and experimentation are considered as part of the salient assessment strategies. The outcomes of this study illustrate that the strategies mentioned in this paragraph are not used by most teachers due to the remoteness of the schools, lack of resources, and lack of pedagogical content knowledge. It clearly illustrates that rural schools do follow the policy [24] which highlights that all forms of assessment involve generating and gathering evidence of achievement and evaluating this evidence using these different forms. However, some of the teachers lack the implementation of the key assessment strategies that promote science learning and science literacy.

Quizzes are not a relatively common practice for assessment in rural schools in South Africa, and as such, the agreement rate declined: 13.3% with 50% neutral, 13.3% disagreed, and 23.3% did not respond to the question. These results prove that there is a need for professional development on how to assess science content.

#### **10. Interpreting the summary of findings**

**Table 2** shows that teachers are knowledgeable of the principles and application of assessment methods. It is not in all cases that this knowledge is transferred into practical application by teachers, some are either unwilling or indifferent in their assessment practices, and thus, there was no 100% consensus in terms of adhering to principles and cognitive domain. The evidence is that the teachers use the most common assessment methods. Thus, [1] note that assessment is fundamental to students' conceptual understanding; for the students to grasp the content knowledge, different assessment approaches need to be employed.

Singh et al. [15] clarify the importance of assessment and emphasize that science educators must use high-quality assessment process when assessing learners. The CAPS document also stresses the importance of assessment [24] Debates were generally not considered as important, and Quizzes are not quite a common practice for assessment in rural schools in South Africa. Therefore, the present researchers are of the views that these types of assessments are also very important in science learning. They give students the opportunity to apply both their solving and analytical thing. These skills will assist the students even in the workplace.

#### **11. Conclusion**

The study confirmed that science teachers use the most common and easiest assessment methods of tests and assignments in their classes. However, the key findings also reveal that assessments such as Quizzes, Roleplay, Presentation, Problemsolving, and Experimentation are not considered very important. Moreover, these types of assessments are not commonly used in rural schools in South Africa due to the remoteness of the schools, lack of resources, and lack of pedagogical content

knowledge. Thus, it is very important that departmental officials give full support to science teachers.
