Predictive validity of internal examinations in secondary schools in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the relationship between performance in internal (teachermade) summative examinations and external summative public national examination. The objectives were to establish whether there is significant relationship between internal summative examination and external summative examination in secondary schools in Kenya, determine which subject has a greater capacity in predicting performance in external summative examination (KCSE), and the year with more weight in predicting performance in external summative examinations. This study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study comprised of all the students from four secondary schools who registered in Form 1 in 2007 and sat for their KCSE examination in 2010.Examination scores for internal summative examinations and KCSE examination scores for 60 students from form 1 in 2007 to form four in 2010 were purposively sampled from each of the four schools targeted making a sample of 240 students. The instrument used to collect data was an inventory. The inventory requested test scores derived from tests constructed, administered, and scored by teachers in secondary schools for Maths, English, Biology and Geography. Data was analysed using quantitative statistics. The relationship between the scores was determined by calculating correlation coefficient and results presented using tables and graphs with the aid of SPSS. The study revealed that there is significant relationship between the internal summative examination scores and the external public summative examination scores with mathematics as a major predictor of student performance and that the students performance in the internal summative examination in first year cannot be used to predict the performance in the external summative examination. Fourth year is a major predictor followed by the performance in third year and then finally the performance in second year. The study recommends that the Kenya National Examination Council should standardise the internal summative examination conducted by teachers in their respective schools and that the student examination scores in the internal summative examination to be used to award students incase a student is unable to sit for external summative examination due to unavoidable situations.