Role of Effective Assessment in Motivating Students with Learning Difficulties in Primary Schools from Teachers’ Perspectives in Abha

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes of teachers of students with learning difficulties toward the assessment methods used in primary schools in Abha City, Saudi Arabia. The descriptive analytical method was used and a questionnaire developed as research instrument. The study sample of 140 teachers was chosen randomly to represent part of the study population, namely teachers who teach students with learning difficulties. The teachers had positive attitudes toward the assessment method used for students with learning difficulties, resulting from the positive views of the community and the school principal. The teachers were a category of special education teachers who deal with a group that was marginalized in the past and have now garnered interest as they need dealing and providing care. The findings show that teachers of students with learning disabilities, regardless of their academic degrees or qualifications, try to structure the questions and explain them to the students in such way that they can understand and answer them, in addition to reducing the difficult essay questions that they cannot answer. In addition, classrooms are poorly staffed. The results show that, in comparison to primary school students, the students benefited from the oral reading component of the mathematics test, which is useful for students with learning difficulties.