KPSEA season: When the whole family feels the exam heat

This year, I will be serious. No girls. I have KPSEA to think about.” A little man declared at the beginning of the year. “What do you mean, no girls?”

His mother asked him, to which he responded, “I will not notice them, I will not crush on them, and I will ignore the girl I like.” If a pre-teen boy can say this and stick to his promise, then you must know that a national exam is serious business. So serious that some parents and teachers are even more anxious than the candidates.

The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) are about to mark the start of the longest holiday in our national curriculum's education calendar. But for the learners sitting the assessments, you can almost feel the tension in the air. Breakfast tables have become revision hubs, and living rooms are echoing with “Have you seen my revision folder?”

Even the family pet seems to know something serious is happening. With days to go, preparation is on overdrive. Have you ever sharpened a pencil until it is so short you need tweezers to hold it? That is the situation right now. We are all trying to squeeze in just a little more revision, a little more prayer, and a whole lot of hope before KPSEA and KJSEA arrive. The countdown, while keeping the candidates on their toes, is working up the parents’ and teachers’ nerves. The last time parents ever experienced this kind of tension is when the baby’s due date was ‘any time now.’

We have all been there, more than once. Decades ago, when I sat my first ever national exam, mum told me, “Give it your all. Remain calm and apply everything you have learnt in the last eight years.” But what she told me, and what worked to calm me down in that exam and others that I have sat over time was, “Do not cheat. Use your knowledge, and whatever you get, you will be proud that it is your effort.” While some teachers will groom their learners to cheat on exams, a parent’s words of affirmation and a clear stand on exam cheating have more sway.

As much as we want our children to excel, we must remember this is their exam, not ours. We must teach the values of honest work and ethics this early because these are what will get them ahead in life. Most importantly, the healthy pride they will experience when they know that they earned every point in that exam will be a bunker for the rest of their lives.

While at it, how can we make this exam season a little lighter and a lot calmer for both children and parents?

Do not let your nerves rub off on them

Children are like emotional sponges. If you are anxious, they will pick it up. Stay positive and calm. Replace “Are you sure you’ve read everything?” with “You’ve done your best, and that’s enough.” Confidence is contagious.

Help them plan, not panic

A realistic revision plan entails short study sessions, frequent breaks, and some playtime in between. This helps retain information better than endless cramming. A rested brain remembers more than an overworked one.

Exams do not define a child

Lighten the mood whenever you can, without overpressuring the child. While assessments are important to guide academic performance, they are not a death sentence or life-threatening task. They do not dictate a child’s future success in life any more than other factors such as discipline, focus, grit and pursuit of purpose.

Keep the home a calm zone

Each child is gifted. Do not compare or put pressure on one child to perform like another. This is not the time to bring up, “Your brother topped the County.” Just let your child feel supported. Ensure meals are healthy, rest is prioritised, and the house feels peaceful.

Focus on effort, not only results

Exams test what the child has learned, not who they are. Please print this and remind the child of this. We have witnessed too many tragic cases of children doing the unthinkable just because they did not score what the parent was expecting. Celebrate hard work, focus, and improvement, not just grades.

To all our children sitting the KPSEA and KJSEA, give it your all. You’ve got this.