Everything You Need to Know About KNEC’s Grade 9 Assessment Pilot Starting Monday.
The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) will initiate the Grade 9 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment pilot from July 15 to 19, 2024. This pilot involves 5,875 Grade 8 students from 235 schools. The objective is to gauge the preparedness of both students and the education system for the comprehensive implementation of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA). It also aims to set the stage for the 2025 summative assessment, marking the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) transition to senior high school.
KNEC CEO David Njengere highlighted that both formative and summative assessments’ outcomes will contribute to the final reporting at the end of Grade 9. This is crucial for the placement in Senior School for learners in the Age-Based pathway and the transition to the Vocational Level for those in the Stage-Based pathway. The pilot will evaluate the feasibility of the proposed national assessment and verify the testing instruments’ validity and reliability, along with other essential procedures.
The Grade 9 Summative Assessment aims to:
- Evaluate the specification tables developed for each Grade 9 subject.
- Determine the appropriateness of test items/tasks in each subject.
- Assess the validity, reliability, and effectiveness of the assessment instruments in determining learners’ competency levels.
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Additionally, the pilot will assess the effectiveness of administering the Summative Assessment at Grade 9. It will also test the readiness for e-assessment in junior schools and evaluate the appropriateness of the allocated time and the impact of various test item formats.
The Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) will replace the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations, last conducted last year. The new assessment system includes 20% from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment at the end of Grade Six, 20% from school-based assessments in Grades Seven and Eight, and 60% from the Grade Nine summative assessment.
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The pilot will help KNEC determine the scoring procedures’ reliability, assess the grading criteria’s suitability for guiding senior school placement, and identify the best methods for reporting assessment results. In addition, the lessons learned will inform the national rollout of the KJSEA at Grade 9. KNEC aims to disseminate the necessary tools to assess student effectiveness and readiness.
The summative assessment papers, previously known as examination papers, will be distributed to five schools in each of the 47 counties, totaling 235 schools. These papers will serve as samples for candidates preparing for the 2025 Junior School Summative Assessments.
The pilot’s target population includes all Grade 8 learners, with 5,875 participants from 235 schools. Among them, 5,125 follow the regular curriculum, while 750 have special needs. Each participating school will contribute 25 randomly sampled learners. Thirty schools will use the e-assessment format, while 205 will take pen-and-paper tests. Additionally, 30 special needs schools have been purposively sampled, representing categories such as visual impairments, hearing impairments, and physical disabilities.
The pilot program involves 150 students from the 30 sampled schools, who will engage in performance-based tasks. In this setup, a KNEC officer will act as a supervisor, and one of the school’s teachers will be appointed as an assessor.
Everything You Need to Know About KNEC’s Grade 9 Assessment Pilot Starting Monday.
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