Classroom Assessment Practices in Public Secondary Schools Regarding Academic Performance

Abstract

Assessment of Christian Religious Education show that CRE performance trend have gradually dropped, and certain factors are responsible for the declining standards which include learners’ attitude, teacher competence and skills, as well as the types and format of assessment. This study sought to investigate the Classroom Assessment Practices in secondary schools especially in CRE subjects within Kitui County. The objectives were; to learn about the many methods of in-class evaluation that are often used by CRE instructors, to find out the structure of the classroom assessment instruments, determine how CRE teachers’ competencies and skills in classroom assessment practices influence academic performance, and to examine the degree to which students' opinions regarding classroom assessment techniques impact academic achievement in CRE. The study adopted the Constructivism Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Title’s Theory for Classroom Assessment Practice. The study selected descriptive survey research design to collected quantitative and qualitative data. The target population was drawn from all 42 public high schools in Kitui Central Sub County. Principals, CRE department heads, CRE instructors, and students in Form 4 across 42 public secondary schools made up the target audience. Purposive sampling was used to sample a third of the teachers, while census sampling picked 13 principals and 13 HODs from the schools that meet our criteria for this research. Thus, the total sample comprised of 13 principals, 13 HODs, and 26 CRE teachers. The study will use questionnaires for data collection. Descriptive analysis was done on collected information. The results of this study stressed the importance of preparing educators to employ a wide range of assessment strategies, including students' own self- and peers'-evaluations, classroom observations, portfolios, and graded performances. The results also highlighted the need of using assessment data to influence instruction, inspire students, and initiate conversations with parents, highlighting the importance of this topic as a whole. The study recommends that the Kenyan Government’s Ministry of Basic Education has to institute rules and procedures to guarantee that secondary schools in the country employ a variety of case-separated values (CAPS). There has to be a unified stance on this that all institutions can benefit from.