CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Historically, prior to the current emphasis on data and accountability in schools some school leaders and educational researchers focused on standards-based reform in education. From the idea of creating standards comes accountability, the idea that schools should report on their ability to meet the designated standards.

Late in the last century and in the early 2000s, an increased emphasis on accountability in public organizations made its way into the realm of education. Building on organizational and school change literature, Richard Halverson, Jeffrey Grigg, Reid Prichett, and Chris Thomas developed a DDIS framework in an attempt to describe how relevant actors manage school-level internal accountability to external accountability (Elmore, 2017).

Specifically, high-stakes external accountability policies such as No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was implemented to hold schools accountable for the reported standardized, summative assessment metrics. However, schools already had active internal accountability systems that place high emphasis on an ongoing cycle of instructional improvement based on the use of data including formative assessment results and behavioral information.

Therefore, when the high-stakes accountability was implemented, schools naturally go through process of alignment between different types of data, different purposes and the corresponding tension. Richard Halverson and his colleagues, employing case study approaches, explore leaders’ effort of coordination and alignment process which occurs between extant “central practices and cultures of schools” and “new accountability pressure” in a pursuit of improving student achievement score (Halverson, Richard; Grigg, Jeffrey; Prichett, Reid; Thomas, Chris, 2007).

With the passing of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2001 came laws requiring schools to provide information to the public concerning the quality of education provided to students. To be able to provide such data, states were mandated to create accountability measures and yearly assessments to gauge the effectiveness of schools in meeting those measures (Larocque, 2007). Following NCLB, more recent legislation under the Race to the Top Act further pushed states to use data gathering and reporting to demonstrate school’s ability to meet the demands of the public. Embedded in both NCLB and the Race to the Top Act is an assumption that the collection and use of data can lead to increased student performance (Kennedy, Brianna, Datnow and Amanda 2011).

Concept of data-driven instruction; is an educational approach that relies on information to inform teaching and learning. The idea refers to a method teachers use to improve instruction by looking at the information they have about their students. It takes place within the classroom, compared to data-driven decision making. Data-driven instruction works on two levels. Firstly, it provides teachers with the ability to be more responsive to students’ needs, and Secondly, it allows students to be in charge of their own learning (Elmore, 2017).

Data in the classroom is any information that is visible during instruction that could be used to inform teaching and learning. Types of data include quantitative and qualitative data, although quantitative data is most often used for data-driven instruction. Examples of quantitative data include test scores, results on a quiz, and levels of performance on a periodic assessment (Boudet and Murname, 2013). Examples of qualitative data include field notes, student work/artifacts, interviews, focus groups, digital pictures, video, reflective journals (Dana and Yendol-Hoppey 2014).

Academic achievement describes academic outcomes that indicate the extent to which a student has achieved their learning goals. Academic achievement may refer to completing educational benchmarks such as a bachelor’s degree. Academic achievement is often measured through examinations or continuous assessments. It   is the extent to which a student or institution has achieved either short- or long-term educational goals. Achievement may be measured through students’ grade point average, whereas for institutions, achievement may be measured through graduation rates (TOPHAT glossary, 2021).

This study will be anchored on two theories: The Item Response Theory (IRT), conceived by Thurstone (1925) and the Classical Test Theory [Spearman, 1904, Novick, 1966]

The item response theory (IRT), also known as the latent response theory refers to a family of mathematical models that attempt to explain the relationship between latent traits (unobservable characteristic or attribute) and their manifestations (i.e. observed outcomes, responses or performance).They establish a link between the properties of items on an instrument, individuals responding to these items and the underlying trait being measured. IRT assumes that the latent construct (e.g. stress, knowledge, attitudes) and items of a measure are organized in an unobservable continuum. Therefore, its main purpose focuses on establishing the individual’s position on that continuum.

IRT models can be applied successfully in many settings that apply assessments (education, psychology, health outcome research, etc.). It can also be utilized to design and hone scales/measures by including items with high discrimination that add to the precision of the measurement tool and lessens the burden of answering long questionnaires. As IRT model’s unit of analysis is the item, they can be used to compare items from different measures provided that they are measuring the same latent construct.

Furthermore, they can be used in differential item functioning, in order to assess why items that are calibrated and test, still behave differently among groups. This can lead research into identifying the causative agents behind differences in responses and link them to group characteristics. Finally, they can be used in Computerized Adaptive Testing. This theory supports this study in that it helps us to measure the knowledge, attitude, and intelligence and students’ academic achievements

Classical test theory is a traditional quantitative approach to testing the reliability and validity of a scale based on its items. In the context of PRO measures, classical test theory assumes that each observed score (X) on a PRO instrument is a combination of an underlying true score (T) on the concept of interest and unsystematic (i.e., random) error (E). Classical test theory, also known as true score theory, assumes that each person has a true score, T, that would be obtained if there were no errors in measurement. A person’s true score is defined as the expected score over an infinite number of independent administrations of the scale.

Classical test theory (CTT), also referred to as the “true score theory”, operates based on the assumption that the differences between the responses of examines are systematic; they are affected by the variation in the ability of the examinees. The theory focuses its attention on only the ability of interest, and one of the biggest assumptions that often attract scrutiny of the results is that all other sources of variation, such as external factors of the surrounding or physical and mental conditions of the examinees are constant throughout repeated standardization procedure, or just random and unsystematic occurrence in Magno (2009). This theory is important to the field of education because it will study the relationship of the building principals in the process of using student data to drive instructional practices. Teachers, school administrators, and corporate administrators all play key roles in this process.

In Cameroon, Christian mission schools have played an important role in the education of children whose parents can afford them, however this is a minority and most are forced to choose state-run schools. Since 2000 Primary schools have been free to attend, unfortunately these are very basic, overcrowded and parents have to pay for uniforms, book fees and sometimes even anti-malaria prophylaxis. More boys than girls attend school, the main reasons for this include early marriage, pregnancy, domestic chores and traditional biases. Secondary schools in Cameroon are expensive to attend thus making them unaffordable for many families.

In 2013, the adult literacy rate in Cameroon was estimated to be 71.3% and the primary school enrolment rate was 93.5%. Amongst 15 to 24-year olds the literacy rate was 85.4% for boys and 76.4% for girls. The school attendance rate in Cameroon is greatly affected by child labour, the U.S. Department of Labour reported that 56% of children aged between 5 and 14 were working children and nearly 53% of children between 7 and 14 mixed work and school.

The education system in Cameroon is divided into primary, middle school, secondary and tertiary (University). Primary school is the only compulsive element of Cameroon’s education system and lasts for the first six years, middle school covers the next five years and high school, two years. The academic year is September to June and end-of-year-exams are always written. The General Certificate of Education (GCE), both Ordinary and Advanced levels, are the two most qualifying exams in the Anglophone part of Cameroon. Students who graduate from middle school have to sit for the GCE Ordinary Level and students who graduate from high school sit for the GCE Advanced Level. After high school, as well as attending university, students can take vocational studies, these are aimed at unemployed people and were devised by the Ministry of employment.

Teachers – absenteeism of teachers is a reason thought to adversely affect the poor level of education in the country. Also, teachers from both English and French sub-systems still operate as separate entities in the education system, this prevents teachers cultivating a joint academic repertoire around professional matters and engaging in productive debates. Textbook Review – In 1995, the National Forum on Education strongly endorsed the inclusion of local knowledge and practices into the school curriculum, this was to make the education system more relevant to the students.

After this recommendation the Institute of Rural Applied Pedagogy (IRAP) changed programs and integrated training, it combined general knowledge with work practices such as agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, brick laying and carpentry. However, the system was not balanced, traditional subjects like mathematics, science and languages were adequately developed but new subjects were not. The project wasn’t a total failure and some of the initiatives were interesting and proved that the approach was partly right but had to be more precisely studied (Retrived from https://www.studycountry.com/guide/CM-education.htm).

The Cameroonian system is deeply divided into two different systems: even if officially the two were merged over 40 years ago, differences of approach by teachers are more than evident. This is a big issue and it affects the potential to reform into a more competitive and efficient system. Another problem is the complete lack of a curriculum for including native languages in the educational system.

Main reasons for this are the lack of Government support to the idea and the real impracticability of part of the proposals because there are more than 270 indigenous languages in Cameroon, picking at random a language to be taught in the whole country would produce political feelings of superiority that might endanger national harmony. There are some programmes to teach the local languages in schools and other facilities but there are mixed feelings towards them. They may be spoken the most in the ordinary lives of Cameroonians but there still exists a “social stigma” towards those who cannot speak anything other than a native language.

Education of students with special needs – In 2010, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that it was deeply concerned that girls, indigenous children, children with disabilities, refugee children, children from poor rural areas and children in street situations suffer certain disadvantages with regard to education and access to health and social services .Impact of Boko Haram violence – Schools in the Far North Region were affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, which spilled over the border from neighboring Nigeria.

In January 2015, several schools in the Far North did not re-open immediately after the Christmas break following the December 2014 Cameroon clashes and reports stated that “Thousands of teachers, students and pupils have fled schools located along the border due to bloody confrontations between the Cameroon military and suspected Boko Haram militants.” The Cameroonian military deployed forces to ensure the safety of students

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