Grade Six learners will sit multiple choice exams in their final Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) CEO David Njengere yesterday allayed fears among candidates and parents that the assessment format has been changed from the original plan under the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC).
“The assessments have already been set and are ready for administration. Nothing has been changed in the format as this is the first final assessment under the CBC,” said Dr Njengere.
He explained that KPSEA follows the Basic Education Curriculum Framework guidelines released in 2019 by the Ministry of Education to guide national assessments under the curriculum. The framework was developed by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
Grades Three, Four, Five and part of Grade Six national assessments are formative while learners will sit for a summative assessment at the end of Grade Six.
“The learners in Grade Six have already done the formative assessments. They are scheduled to sit for the summative assessment at the end of the year, which basically will be multiple choices,” said Dr Njengere.
According to the CBC taskforce report, assessments in schools will be both formative and summative.
At lower primary schools, the assessments are mainly formative, meaning teachers in Grades One to Three conduct classroom assessments.
Standardised assessment tools
Knec has since developed standardised assessment tools to be administered, scored and feedback given to individual learners by teachers in their respective schools.
The schools then submit the results for each learner in a designated format to Knec to facilitate analysis of achievement of competencies at national level.
Assessments in upper primary are aligned to Basic Education Policy governing the balance between formative and summative evaluations.
The taskforce report explains that this helps to assess comprehensively the mastery of multifarious competencies of different learners.
The results from the formative and summative assessment will facilitate placement of learners to Junior Secondary School in January next year.
“The mode of assessment will entail a combination of teacher-administered formative assessment in Grades Four, Five and Six and a summative assessment to be administered by Knec at the end of Grade Six,” reads the report.
Dr Njengere said the formative assessments done in Grades Four (20 percent), Five (20 percent) and Six (20 percent) will score learners 60 percent of the final grade while the summative assessment scheduled for November will cater for the 40 per cent.
“The summative assessment is prompted by the need to allow learners from across the country to access schools which have superior infrastructure and a culture of good performance, thus enhancing equity,” reads the taskforce report.
At secondary schools, the report explains that assessments will also be formative and summative.
“The junior secondary school assessment will facilitate placement in Senior Secondary School, while the senior school assessment will facilitate transition into tertiary and university education and training,” says the report.
According to the CBC basic education framework, the summative assessments are used to evaluate students learning, skill acquisition and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period – typically at the end of a learning cycle.
The summative assessments will be used for placement and certification. The results will also be used for grading learners.
Formative assessments are being used to diagnose learning gaps, for corrective, retesting, feedback of evidence to teachers and learners’ self-evaluation.
“The formative assessments focus at learners’ abilities, attitudes and aptitudes that do not manifest themselves in the form of written word,” reads the framework.
In the summative assessment, the Grade Six learners will be assessed in five subjects namely mathematics and English on the first day, integrated science and Kiswahili on the second day and creative arts and social studies on the third day.
In Grades Four, Five and Six, formative assessments tools include mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Kenyan sign language, science and technology, agriculture, music, art and craft, social studies, religious education, home science and physical and health education.
More than 1.25 million Grade Six learners are expected to sit for the summative assessment and join Grade Seven next year.
Currently, under the 8-4-4 system, the Standard Eight Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examis marked electronically. Only English composition and Kiswahili insha are marked manually be teachers.
