KNEC released a statement revealing that the Grade 9 first pilot assessment is set to begin as a step towards the final Junior Secondary School assessment, which is to take place the following year. The big exercise is going to be led within the coming week, between July 15-19, 2024, targeting about 5,875 students in 235 Junior Secondary Schools.
Assessment Details
Target Group
- Regular Curriculum Learners: 5,125 students
- Special Needs Learners: 750 students
- Institutions Involved: 235 JSS institutions
- Schools Selected: Five schools per county
Assessment Formats
According to Anne Ngatia, the Acting Deputy Director of the Research, Innovation, and Educational Assessment Resource Centre at KNEC, among other formats for assessments to be used will include:
- Multiple Choice Questions: These assess the quick thinking and recall knowledge in students.
- Short Structured Questions: Students are required to write answers in their own words.
“We will analyze the results afterwards to know how they performed in this item format, ” Ngatia said. Besides, KNEC will introduce a learner questionnaire to understand what interests the learner to inform career pathways decisions other than mere academic achievement.
Goals and Objectives
Career Pathways
Ngatia said the pilot assessment is intended to help learners choose their career paths based on their interests and personality rather than how well or poorly they perform in achievement tests.
Moving Away from High-Stakes Exams
According to the KNEC Chief Executive Officer, David Njegere, the council aimed at getting out of high-stakes examinations that often lead to malpractices. In its place, grades 7 and 8 will have school-based assessments so that the evaluation climate is natural, less pressurized.
These marks the child will score during the piloting are only for research purposes,” Njegere said. He assured that these scores shall have no formative or summative basis for the students, adding that teachers should not coach the children but just let them participate naturally.
Subjects Covered
The pilot assessment will cover eight subjects:
- English Language
- English (Composition and Literary Analysis)
- Kiswahili Lugha
- Kiswahili (Insha na Utangulizi wa Fasihi)
- Kenyan Sign Language (KSL)
- Mathematics
- Integrated Science
- Agriculture & Nutrition
- Religious Education (CRE, HRE, IRE)
- Creative Arts & Sports
- Pre-Technical Studies