Ministry set to abandon old KCSE exam grading system
The Ministry of Education is planning to overhaul the grading system for KCSE exams, as revealed by Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang. In contrast to the previous 8-4-4 system, where students were graded across subject clusters, the new system will assess learners more broadly, taking into account their five best subjects.
Kipsang emphasized that this change aims to prioritize the interests and abilities of students. The objective is to enable students interested in fields like medicine or engineering to qualify for such courses, even if a lower grade in one subject affected their overall mean grade.
During a briefing in Mombasa regarding the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) recommendations, Kipsang underscored that the grading of the national education system should primarily serve as certification and not solely for determining placement in higher learning institutions.
The current system, which integrated certification and placement, disadvantaged students with diverse interests and abilities.
Also Read:Â Kenya Airways donates Boeing 737-700 plane to Mangu High School
The future grading of exams will place a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy abilities. However, students still under the 8-4-4 system will be assessed based on their performance in five subjects, in addition to their grades in Mathematics and either English or Kiswahili.
The PWPER expressed concerns that the 8-4-4 system focused excessively on academics and rote learning, neglecting the development of critical skills and values necessary for character formation.
The current KCSE grading system considers seven subjects, including English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, two science subjects, and two others. This approach disadvantaged some students, as their best-performing subject was not considered if it fell outside the specified cluster.
As a result, the PWPER proposed that the KCSE examination mean score, computed by Knec, be based on Mathematics, English or Kiswahili, and the five other subjects in which students perform the best.
Ministry set to abandon old KCSE exam grading system
