Alignment between Biology Curriculum Objectives and Assessment at Higher Secondary Level

Curriculum alignment is basically the process of formally evaluating a course or an educational programme to address the changing needs of society and the workforce, which is done by educators across all levels. In this study, researcher investigated to what extent the curriculum objectives are aligned with assessment of Biology, explored the available laboratory facilities for Biology students, and find out the opinion of teachers and students about the implementation of the Biology National Curriculum 2006. A mixed methods approach was employed to get a clear understanding of the problem. All biology students and teachers from Islamabad Model Colleges of Islamabad were the population of the study. The samples were chosen by a random sampling technique. The researcher used a checklist for students, semi-structured interviews for biology teachers, and lab observation was also done to check the available resources for conducting practicals. The researcher personally visited all institutions for data collection. Researcher used percentage for the analysis of students' checklist. Qualitative data got from interviews of teachers were analyzed using NVIVO. It was found that the objectives were not fully aligned with assessment; students were not satisfied with curriculum objectives; learning activities were partially aligned with the curriculum; assessment plans were also partially aligned with the curriculum; time is not enough to cover the whole content; teachers are not satisfied with the performance of the learners; teachers try their best to cover the content. It is recommended that courses may not be so lengthy. The assessment may be aligned with the objectives of the National Curriculum, the focus of the students may change from getting marks to concept clarification, lab equipment may be provided to institutes, lab equipment may be updated and according to the quantity mentioned in the Biology National Curriculum 2006.