Performance-Based Assessments in Secondary School Computer Studies and their Influence on Students’ Innovative Capacity in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Effective use of Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs) in the learning continuum is a central variable in engendering desirable learning outcomes such as improving learner creativity, innovation abilities, logical thinking skills, increasing students’ interest in learning, and content retention among others. However, systematic empirical studies centering on the influence of these assessments on Computer Studies students’ innovative capacity in Kenyan secondary schools are limited. This study sought to examine the influence of PBAs use in secondary school Computer Studies on students’ innovative capacity in Murang’a County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to determine the influence of the frequency of PBAs on Computer Studies students’ innovative capacity in secondary schools in Murang’a County; to find out the influence of the adequacy of resources for PBAs on Computer Studies students’ innovative capacity; to establish the contribution of teacher competency in administering PBAs to Computer Studies students’ innovative capacity. Social Constructivism theory as posited by Lev Vygotsky was used to guide the study. Descriptive survey study design was adopted. The target population comprised of 1561 Computer Studies students and 16 Computer Studies teachers. Stratified sampling using proportional allocation and random sampling was used to select a total of 318 Computer Studies students in form two, three and four whereas all the 15 Computer Studies teachers were involved in the study. Two questionnaires were used in this study: one for Computer Studies Students and the other for Computer Studies teachers. Cronbach Alpha coefficients for internal consistency of 0.817 and 0.70 were obtained for the two research instruments respectively. Content validity ratio (CVR) of 0.94 for students’ questionnaire and 0.87 for teachers’ questionnaire was obtained. Descriptive statistics namely frequencies, means and standard deviation were used to describe data on the variables of interest. To make meaning of the analyzed data, inferential statistics such as correlation and simple linear regression were used. The study established a relatively low frequency of PBA use (M =2.14 out of 5) and a poor rating of resource adequacy for PBA administration (M= 2.35 out of 5) in the sampled secondary schools. This corresponded to a low student innovative capacity (M = 1.05 out of 11). The linear regression models showed that the frequency of PBA use in Computer Studies (R2 = .254) and resource adequacy (R2 = .464) were central predictors of students’ innovative capacity. Teacher competency was highly rated (M= 3.75 out of 5) though it had not significantly contributed to the students’ innovative capacity. The study concluded that the low frequency of PBAs in Computer Studies, inadequacies of resources and failure of full utilization of teacher skills in PBA administration had negatively influenced students’ innovative capacity. The study recommends increased frequency of PBAs in the subject’s curriculum implementation, availing of adequate resources and a strengthened monitoring of the implementation of PBAs in Computer Studies to ensure that teachers implement them effectively.