Factors influencing Validity of Classroom Test Construction and Challenges experienced by trainers in Early Childhood Development and Education Programmes, Nairobi County, Kenya

Factors influencing Validity of Classroom Test Construction and Challenges experienced by trainers in Early Childhood Development and Education Programmes, Nairobi County, Kenya

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Factors influencing Validity of Classroom Test Construction and Challenges experienced by trainers in Early Childhood Development and Education Programmes, Nairobi County, Kenya

The study sought to examine the factors influencing the validity of classroom test construction and ,challenges experienced by trainers in Early Childhood development and Education programmes, ,Nairobi County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were four fold namely, to explore the ,content and face validity of ECDE classroom examinations, trainers experience in test ,construction, use of table of specification and bloom’,s taxonomy in classroom tests to improve ,validity and to examine the challenges facing trainers in classroom test construction .The study ,was guided by the cognitive learning theory. Classroom tests can be designed by the teacher to ,determine or monitor progress of the learners in a classroom. Most trainers have limited ,assessment training and even less time to develop and evaluate their own tests. Trainers routinelydevelop tests without considering validity issues. The Kenya National Examinations Council is ,mandated to assess the learning objectives of ECDE trainees at Certificate and Diploma level and ,award Certificates to successful candidates. However, the average performance of some ,candidates in National Examinations alleged by Chief Examiners is attributed to poor syllabus ,coverage. The Study adopted a multiple case study research design and was conducted in 2 ECDE ,training institutions. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 15 trainers. The main ,research instruments were Questionnaires, Structured interview and Document analysis. Data was ,analyzed using descriptive statistics and the information presented in figures and percentages intables. The study revealed that the continuous assessment tests administered to the ECDE trainees ,had low content and low face validity. Despite their experience in training of ECDE trainees, they ,still had insufficient skills in test construction, syllabus, inadequate resources and test quality ,related challenges affected test validity. Intensive item writing training recommended.Keywords: Validity, Bloom’,s taxonomy, test construction, Early Childhood Development and ,Education. ,

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