Governments around the world are pushing educators to adopt assessment data as an objective basis for initiating changes in curriculum and instruction.  Recent research findings indicate that teachers' effective and consistent use of assessment data in planning curriculum, implementation and monitoring of teaching improves the learner's overall academic achievement. This paper is a product of a desktop review of the limited cognate literature present in Kenya on the utility of assessment data for decision making in secondary schools. Although findings reveal that Kenyan teachers use assessment data to among others; identify weak learners for individual remediation programs, inform parents of their children’s academic progress and for career selection, the instructor’s intensive use of data in classrooms to drive meaningful positive change faces pervasive bottlenecks. Teachers need to exploit the available opportunities created by the government, such as in-service training on information communications technology, to enhance the use of assessment data to promote learning.

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Teachers’ Use of Assessment Data in Secondary Schools in Kenya: Opportunities and Threats

Purpose: The study investigated the level of preparedness of secondary school Principals to adopt the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) in Keiyo North Sub-County, Elgeiyo-Marakwet County in Kenya. \nMethodology: It was an explanatory research based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the public choice theory. A target population of 30 secondary schools Principals and 30 HODs in charge of ICT in Keiyo North Sub-County schools consisting of Boarding and Day secondary schools was used. This formed a population of 60. The schools were classified as National, Extra-County, County and Sub-County secondary schools. This ensured that all the sub-groups were proportionately represented. Quantitative data was collected using close-ended questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A model was developed through regression analysis. \nFindings: Results indicate that the sub-variable of Principal’s level of preparedness (acceptance, training and skills, and ICT infrastructure) had a statistically significant positive effect on adoption of NEMIS in secondary schools. The finding of this study is useful to the Ministry of Education (MOE) in planning purposes. The constructs of Principal’s level of preparedness (acceptance, training and skills and ICT infrastructure) positively and significantly correlated with adoption of NEMIS and as these constructs are enhanced, adoption of NEMIS receives a positive boost. \nUnique Contribution to Theory Practice and Policy: The study points out that use of technology is a function of acceptance by the user and is in line with the postulates of UTAUT theory that drove this study. It is therefore recommended that managers in the education circles should pay greater attention to the postulates of UTAUT theory for effective implantation of ICT driven programs like NEMIS. The study further points out that for any government policy to succeed, those in authority should allocate resources for public interest to support such policy rather than follow their own self-interest as pointed out by the public choice theory.

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Secondary school principals’ level of preparedness and adoption of national education management information system in keiyo north sub-county, kenya

.............................................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Objectives of the Study ......................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Justification of the Study ...................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study........................................................................................ 6 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 8 2.

Assessment of education management information system in Kenya: a case study of Limuru sub-county, Kiambu county

Educational planning and development has been influenced by the social-economic and political needs of the society since time immemorial. One of the greatest educational challenges in developing countries is to maximize learning in educational systems based on available and reliable data since they have limited resources. Data in this study were collected through primary sources which included questionnaires to 28 and 112 Principals and HoDs respectively who were purposively sampled from 28 public secondary schools in Rarieda Sub-County, Kenya. In addition, the Sub-County Education Officer, 3 Sub-County Quality Assurance Officers and 4 Teachers Service Commission (TSC) officers at the sub-county were subjected to interview schedules. Reliability of the instruments was tested using test-retest method while expert judgments were used to determine their validity. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data were summarized in tables and percentages to present analysed data. The study findings indicated that: the extent of computer literacy among secondary school teachers, presence of computers and other ICT gadgets, Master database in schools, remote access to database and information were below average. In addition, it was established that data storage for students and other resources were rated at 51-100%. However, the mode of storage was manual. This study recommends that schools should promote computer literacy among teachers through trainings and seminars and recognition of the resultant certificates to step up the practice of EMIS at all management levels such as data collection, processing and storage. Dissemination should be computerised to enhance linkage and accessibility to data remotely.

J.M. Ndiku

Papers

Establishment of EMIS Infrastructure in Public Secondary Schools in Rarieda Sub-County, Kenya