Abstract:
The study investigated the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council’s (ZIMSEC)
examination of reading comprehension and summary in ‘O’ level English, focusing
on, inter alia, the skills, texts used, questioning techniques, candidates’ performance
in reading comprehension and summary vis-a -vis their composition writing
performance, and on whether how the skills have been examined has influenced
teaching. The research was qualitative. Document Analysis was employed. Thirty
‘O’ level English teachers who were assistant examiners were also purposively
selected from schools in Masvingo Province and interviewed using a semi-structured
guide. The ZIMSEC Subject Manager for English was interviewed to provide further
insights. Emerging themes were then categorized and interpreted. The inquiry
established that ZIMSEC has tended to emphasize contextual and literal skills at
the expense of other comprehension skills, and identification of relevant ideas at the
expense of other summary skills. Narrative-descriptive passages have been used,
without due regard to the socio-cultural backgrounds of Zimbabwean candidates.
Reading comprehension skills have been examined solely through short answer
items. Candidates’ performance was worse in comprehension and summary than
in composition. It also emerged that ZIMSEC’s examination of the skills largely
influenced teaching. The study proffers recommendations to both ZIMSEC and ‘O’
level English Language teachers
