KNEC Announces Dates For Grade 9 Piloting Exams. In June, the Grade 9 evaluation will be piloted by the Kenya National Examination Council.
The pilot evaluation will be conducted in advance of the first cohort’s enrollment in 2025. This is as disclosed by Knec CEO David Njengere on Wednesday.
The Knec boss said the pilot Grade 9 assessment will be conducted in five schools in every county.
This means that a total of 235 schools will conduct the pilot assessment.
“We are going to do a major pilot across the country in all the 47 counties in June so that by the end of this academic year around October all the schools can get sample papers of what to expect in the Grade 9 summative assessment of 2025 as learners transition to Senior School,” Njengere said
Njengere delivered a speech on Wednesday at the first-ever Annual Symposium on Competency-Based Assessment in Nairobi.
The purpose of the symposium was to stay up to date with Kenya’s continuing educational reforms, which have affected reporting and assessment procedures.
According to Njengere, a lot of sensitization and training is being given to teachers to make sure they understand the curriculum and assessments for students in Grade 9.
“As I talk to you now we have Junior School teachers Grades 7 and 8, they are in Machakos Teachers College where they are being trained on issues of assessment,” the head of the Knec stated.
It will take some time to fully comprehend the distinction between formative and summative evaluations, according to Njengere.
Nonetheless, he conceded that miscommunication of this kind is typical during a period of change.
KNEC Announces Dates For Grade 9 Piloting Exams
“The constructed response items, these are the free answers like where you have a structure, compositions and essays, all that is being done through the school-based assessment (SBA), that is especially in Primary level” he explained.
According to Njengere, the summative KPSEA evaluation consists of multiple-choice, entirely selective response items for the students to complete.
Consequently, nothing is lost. since they are using the created response questions in the School-Based Assessments. They then complete the multiple-choice questions on the summative assessment, according to Njengere.
According to him, a Knec study from 2018 revealed that learners’ performance did not significantly change whether they completed constructed or chosen response items.
Njengere added that in addition to the formative and summative exams, there will be additional assessments.
“One method to address the requirement to develop each learner’s potential is through the use of alternative assessments. It is insufficient to put you through an achievement exam in our quest to discover your potential, Njengere stated.
Does having an A in math, chemistry, and biology, for instance, indicate that you have the ability to become a doctor? Other characteristics, particularly those related to your personality, could make you an unsuitable doctor.”
According to him, a student may have an average grade of B+, but their personality would make them a good doctor.
“That is why we are saying we will not just rely on achievement tests, we will also want to find out more about you, especially your personality, your personal attributes, so that we can help you understand which career pathway will be good for you,” Njengere stated.