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Assessment has always been a fundamental element of the schooling process rendering the role of assessment instruments, methods, administration, and results increasingly important to the educational stakeholders and the general public who want to verify that the students are meeting the expected academic standards (Luckner & Bowen, 2006). Assessment results play a crucial role among government officials, curriculum developers, and school boards in verifying that learners access academic standards that will empower them to earn a living and contribute towards their own development and that of the society as a whole.

According to Harlen (2006a), assessment has two main purposes, to help learning and to summarise what has been learned. In view of this, terms such as ‘formative assessment’ and ‘summative assessment’ have been in use in the context of education. Since formative assessment is perceived as one that aids learning and that takes place during

the learning process, it is also referred to as ‘assessment for learning’ whereas summative assessment that takes place at the end of a certain stage or level of learning and assesses what has been learned within a period of time, is referred to as ‘assessment of learning’.

The word ‘formative’ was used to identify assessment that promotes learning by using evidence about where students have reached, in relation to the goals of their learning, to plan the next steps in their learning and know how to take them.... is concerned with difficulties and positive achievements.... ‘summative assessment’ provides a summary of achievements at a particular point... it provides information to those with an interest in students’ achievements, e.g. parents or employers... (ibid: 104)

Harlen however notes that formative and summative assessments do not use different methods of gathering evidence rather the difference is on how the information gathered is used hence the preferred use of ‘assessment for learning’ and ‘assessment of learning’. Gardner (2006) refers to the process of ‘assessment for learning’ as it is defined by ARG (2002):

the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers, to identify where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there (p. 2)

This definition therefore indicates that assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. It determines, to some extent, the lesson activities and the pedagogic strategies to be employed. Although formative assessment was perceived as contributing to significant learning gains, through a review of literature, it was observed to be weakened by the teachers’ questions and tests that encourage rote and superficial learning as well as emphasizing competition instead of personal improvement (Black & William, 2006). The notion that formative assessment is concerned with understanding the current achievement of learners against some expected level of achievement with the intention of assisting them to move to the next level links with Vygotsky’s notion of ZPD. This indicates that assessment makes learning more meaningful.

Recognising Vygotsky’s notion of socio-cultural theory of learning, James (2006) recommends the development of approaches to assessment that are in line with a socio- cultural perspective on learning where learning takes place through an interaction between the individual and the social environment. Pryor & Crossouard (2008) in their

study in UK schools observed a divergent form of assessment which had tasks designed with the aim of helping learners rather than only testing them, had room for self and peer assessment, and involved the learners in initiating questions. This form of assessment was viewed as operating within a constructivist framework and as tackling the sociological problems of learning. Assessment which focuses on establishing what the learner knows, understands and can do with the intention of helping him/her move to the next level, links with Vygotsky’s ZPD where assessment takes place in form of a collaboration between the learner and the teacher. This understanding of assessment would be flexible and would employ any form of strategy to understand what the learner knows as stated by James (2006: 58), that ‘learning outcomes can be captured and reported through various forms of recording, including audio and visual media’. Deaf learners who learn and communicate through sign language such as those in Kenyan schools would be better assessed through the use of visual media than through reading text and writing in English. Assessments conducted in sign language are likely to give deaf learners a better opportunity to express themselves and display what they know without limitations that may be brought about by the use of a written language. Harlen (2006b) states that preparing learners for exams does not entail practising past test items, but rather explaining the purpose and nature of the test and spending time developing understanding and test taking skills. As Lewin & Dunne (2000: 380) note, ‘selection examinations are critical to life chances and access to employment’ in most African countries. The Kenyan education system attaches high stakes in examination results and as a result the majority of learners tend to focus on achieving good grades that will facilitate them to move to the next level of education. In most cases learners are encouraged by their teachers and their parents to use this approach which makes them adopt passive rather than active learning strategies (Harlen, 2006b) that do not allow for creativity.

Making teachers accountable for test scores but not for effective teaching, encourages the administration of practice tests. Many teachers also go further and actively coach students in passing tests rather than spending time in helping them to understand what is being tested. Thus scope and depth of learning are seriously undermined (Harlen, 2006b).

Teachers’ feedback on how learners perform on tasks designated to them in form of assessment play a key role in determining their feelings towards their learning capabilities. However, Harlen notes that feedback which is critical may make low

achieving learners have more interest in performance rather than in learning. Pryor & Crossouard (2008: 5) noted that in divergent formative assessment ‘exploratory, provisional or provocative descriptive feedback aimed at prompting further engagement from learners’ involves them in constructing understanding of new knowledge. This kind of collaboration is likely to motivate learners to want to gain more knowledge rather than just to pass examinations.

The education system in Kenya is described as examination-oriented where the role of summative assessment has traditionally been to limit access to higher levels of the education system due to larger numbers of pupils who complete an initial phase.