Teachers’ use of rubrics as a tool for assessing learners’ Reading aloud tasks in language activities for early Years education in Kenya

Abstract

The rubric is the most common tool for assessment in the Kenyan Competency Based Curriculum (CBC). However, flaws and inconsistencies in its use have been a major concern. The objectives of this research were to examine the competencies of teachers in using the rubric for assessing reading aloud tasks in Early Years Education (EYE), the extent to which expected learning outcomes of reading aloud tasks were true to the criteria of assessment rubrics, the consistency of rating learners’ reading aloud tasks with the use of assessment rubrics and the challenges teachers encountered as they used rubrics to assess learning outcomes of reading aloud tasks in EYE. The study was anchored on the pragmatic paradigm and was based on Biggs, Tang, and Kennedy’s Constructive Alignment Theory. It was conducted in selected schools in Kesses Sub- County in Uasin Gishu County. The mixed method approach was adopted for the study through the convergent mixed-parallel research design. Slovin’s formula was used to obtain a sample of 115 teachers of Grade 3 drawn from 139 primary schools in the five educational zones in Kesses subcounty by stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data for the study was collected using a questionnaire, document, analysis, observation schedule and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Data analysis followed the convergent parallel design wherein quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed concurrently. The quantitative data were analyzed by computing frequencies, percentages and means while presenting them in tables and plotting of charts and graphs. Kandall’s Coefficient of Concordance (W) was used to determine the level of agreement among raters of a reading aloud task. The qualitative data was coded and collapsed into broad themes and analyzed through detailed descriptions of the emerging themes. The study revealed that 106(92.17%) of the teachers were adequately proficient, 76(66.08%) strictly adhered to requirements of the marking scheme for the rubric criteria. With a Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) of .801, assessment of reading aloud tasks was found to be consistent across raters, though comprehensive use of the rubric was hampered due to inadequate time when dealing with large classes and difficulty in converting rubric scores into grades among other challenges. The study concluded that although the rubric is an invaluable tool for teachers in objective assessment of reading aloud tasks, teachers did not use it to the expected quality to fairly distinguish the level of performances of learners’ reading aloud tasks. The researcher hopes that the findings will benefit EYE teachers, curriculum developers and policy makers by increasing understanding of the rubric for optimal support for reading aloud. The study proposed expanded learning of the rubric both in the initial and the in- service training of teachers, introduction of dummy marking before the actual marking, creation of funded INSETs and development of a manual to guide teachers’ efficient use of the rubric. To address the limitations for comprehensive use and to provide appropriate interventions for the rubric in assessing reading aloud, this study suggests that further research should be carried out to examine if tutors in the teacher training institutions are competent enough to train teachers about the rubric, how learners utilize the rubric to track their own performance, whether teachers have a good command of the language used in designing rubrics and that the study be replicated in other sites in Kenya to get a broader scrutiny of the genesis of discrepancies in the use of the assessment rubric.