Publication: An investigation on the relationship between examination management practices and students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Embu East Sub-County, Kenya.
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2015-10
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Mount Kenya University
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Abstract
Secondary school students have in the recent past manifested instances of dismal performance.
Their performance in Mathematics, Languages, Sciences and Humanities has been below
expectations. Many research studies have been conducted to mitigate the challenges, though little
focus has been directed at examination practices. Thus, this study intended to investigate the
relationship between examination management practices and academic performance of students
in secondary schools in Embu East Sub-county, Embu County, Kenya. The objectives of this
study included; examination setting, distribution, invigilation and marking practices in relation to
academic performance. The study was guided by The Systems Theory. The study adopted a
mixed method approach since it involved collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative
data. The study thus applied explanatory sequential design which involved mixing both
quantitative and qualitative research and methods. The target population for this study comprised
40 Principals, 370 Teachers, 1 Education Officer, I Sub-county Director of Education, and 2000
Form III Students all totaling to 2412. Using The Central Limit Theorem, the researcher sampled
300 respondents, that is, 12.44% of 2412. Stratified sampling was used to create 5 different strata
based on the number of zones in Embu East Sub-county. From each stratum, 1 principal, the
Sub-county Director of Education and the Education Officer were selected using purposive
sampling. Simple random sampling was applied to select 11 teachers and 47 Form III Students.
The sampling procedures adopted enabled the researcher to realize a sample of 5 Principals (3
Male and 2 Female), 58 Teachers (31 Male and 27 Female), and the Sub-county Director of
Education, the Education Officer and 235 Form III Students (153 Male and 82 Female).
Questionnaires, interview schedules and documentary sources were used to collect data. Piloting
of research instruments was conducted amongst 2 Principals, 8 Teachers and 10 Form III
Students in Embu East Sub-county to establish validity, reliability, credibility and dependability.
Reliability was obtained through test re-test method and reliability coefficient obtained using
Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Method and a reliability coefficient of r = 0.735 was
obtained indicating internal consistency. Credibility of qualitative data was ascertained by data
triangulation through multiple analysts or experts. To guarantee dependability, each qualitative
data collection process was reported in detail to enable the researcher to repeat the inquiry and
achieve similar results. Qualitative data was analysed thematically whereas quantitative data was
analysed descriptive statistics whereas and inferential statistics using Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation (PPMC) in Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). The findings
of the study were presented using tables. The study established that there different examination
practices which enhance students’ academic performance. These include; setting, distribution,
invigilation and marking practices which have not been fully embraced by most schools. The
study thus recommends that schools and other education stakeholders should organize for
training of teachers in order to acquire pre-requisite skills in setting examinations. There should
be enough security during distribution of examinations to eliminate roadside examination
malpractice. The examination distributors should be trained on ethics and adherence to
distribution practices with minimum supervision. Schools should follow specifications for
examination invigilation based on the number of students per class during examination session.
Marking and grading of examination results should be based on a universal standard in
comparison with other schools in order for students to rank themselves and thus improve. The
Ministry of Education should ensure implementation of examination management practices.
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school of education