2025/01/02 by Thaddeus Nkum Manu, Lydia A. Nkansah, Jennifer Litela Asare · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Legal Education and Practice Innovations #Artificial Intelligence in Law #Comparative and International Law Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/03069400.2025.2477882
openalex publication_date 2025/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Whatever an assessment’s purpose, to achieve it, it must be valid, reliable and fair. Failing means that the process has not met the cardinal pedagogical principle of evaluating effective learning outcomes. There are several means of measuring acquisition of legal skills, knowledge and understanding but examinations constitute a small aspect. This article seeks to examine the pedagogical purpose informing current thinking and practices regarding the overreliance on summative examination among the various law schools in Ghana. Drawing on personal experience in effective assessment practice in legal education, the authors conduct a brief empirical analysis of a report on the outcome of the Joint National Accreditation Board and the General Legal Council Monitoring Committee review of the law faculties in Ghana and question whether, given the literature underpinning the historical foundation of summative examination in law, it remains an accurate barometer of effective learning. In the background to the current assessment landscape, the authors argue for a radical policy shift towards a comprehensive assessment regime that balances internal college teacher-based assessments and externally administered standardised assessments in measuring effective acquisition of legal knowledge and skills.