Effects of Peer Assessment on Academic Performance Case Study- Tharaka Boys High School

Abstract

Peer evaluation can be vital in building an active and autonomous student. This study sought to assess how often educators use peer evaluation in current Kenyan High School and decide how its effects on students' academic performance use four students from Tharaka Boys High School biology class as the case study. To attain this goal, the study adopted a mixed-method approach. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to collect secondary school teachers in Tharaka Nithi County and form four students in Tharaka Boys High School. Research instruments were developed and distributed. An experimental procedure was also applied to four student's biology class at Tharaka Boys High School. Numerical data from the research instruments were sorted, organized, and entered in (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) SPSS for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to determine how frequently teachers used peer assessment and the types of peer assessment tools that were common. One Way Analysis of Variance was conducted to determine whether the application of peer assessment had any impact on student academic performance. A narrative analysis of the reflective journals was undertaken to assess the student's perception of peer assessment. The research showed that peer assessment was a commonly used classroom assessment tool among Tharaka Nithi County teachers. 89% of the teachers surveyed confirmed to have used this tool. However, a significant number of the sample population, 25%, stated that the peer assessment tool depended on the subject. Peer assessment had a significant impact on student academic performance. At [F-statistic value = 226.76405 Pvalue = 0 for peer assessment, and F-statistic value = 224.43889 P-value = 0], the result confirmed that the difference in means was significant to point to an improvement as a result of the application of peer assessment in the experiment. Narrative analysis established that students had a positive attitude towards peer assessment. The study concluded that peer assessment is a valuable assessment tool that can be effectively deployed to improve student performance.