A Longitudinal Assessment of Written Communication among Students at a Private University in Kenya

Abstract

Regular assessment of program outcome is a fundamental part of efficient curriculum review and improvement. Accrediting commissions expect that by the time of graduation, each student should have achieved the expected program learning outcomes. All accredited programs undergo an assessment process to demonstrate program outcome achievement. This paper presents findings of a longitudinal assessment of students’ writing skills at United States International University (USIU-A). The main objective of this study was to assess the progress made by students in written communication competence right from entry to their final level of the English courses offered at the institution. This was aimed at providing instructionally relevant feedback to instructors which could be used to inform curriculum review and classroom instruction to improve students' writing skills. The study used an analytical rubric to assess students written scripts at different levels from entry to their final level of the English courses. Findings show general improvement in the students writing skills safe for syntax and grammar.  A few recommendations are made from the findings including; providing students with a language intensive program before they begin their degree program, promoting writing across the curriculum (WAC) approach, and limiting language class sizes to 30 for effective teaching, evaluation, and feedback.