Vikiru, Liiian.I.2024-02-132023-02-142024-02-132021-03-16ISSN: 0013-1725 print/1938-8098 onlinehttps://repo.pacuniversity.ac.ke/handle/123456789/3659.2The backwash of testing on teaching can be positive or negative. This article is based on the fi ndings of a study carried out in Kenya on strengthening the development of literacy in English among primary school children, which established that the learners performed poorly on skills that were not directly tested in the conventional examinations. Interventions used in improving teaching, learning, and assessment to target communicative competence are discussed in the article.enArticle