Abstract

The cloze test is recommended as a tool for assessment in the Kenya secondary school syllabus (2002). It was first included in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination in 2006 and performance in it reported as poor between 2006 and 2019. The purpose of this study was to find out cloze tests completion strategies taught and learnt in secondary schools in Murang’a East sub-county and to establish the availability and number of cloze tests in approved secondary school English learners’ course books in Kenya. The basis of the study was schema theory which works on how knowledge is mentally represented and utilized in context. The basic assumption in the theory is that the written text itself carries no meaning but only offers a sense of direction for the reader to retrieve or hypothesis meaning from previously acquired knowledge and knowledge structures called schemata. A descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The study had a sample frame of 768 students and 20 teachers. Sampling was by simple random technique. Data was collected from students by use of a structured questionnaire and from teachers by an interview schedule. Learners’ course books were assessed using a course book analysis checklist. The findings indicate that cloze tests completion strategies are not taught in English subject lessons in secondary schools and English subject learners’ course books have few cloze tests for students to practise with. It is recommended that secondary school students should be taught cloze tests completion strategies in their English subject lessons. The approved secondary school English subject learners’ course books should have at least one cloze test in each study unit

Keywords

Cloze tests, Teaching and learning completion strategies, Availability and number.