The Grade six November national exams will be purely in multiple choice questions.

The test, which will be done from 28th to 30th November 2022, will be known as Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).

The samples for the exams have also been released, showing that the test will only involve multiple choice questions with English composition and Kiswahili Insha not tested.

However teachers have raised alarm, saying the learners all along have been subjected to open ended questions as required by Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) and are worried that they may not tackle objective questions effectively in the upcoming national exams.

One of the teachers, Mr Mutahi Miricho, faults the examiner for changing goal post when they know very well the learners have been doing structured questions since Grade one.

Miricho, a teacher of English at Judea School in Bomet, says unless the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) train learners to answer such questions it will be unfair for the learners.

“The learners need to be trained on how to use personalized mark sheets as they have not used them in previous CBC assessments. They need to learn how to use the time given for each paper,” says Miricho.

Grade six learners did there School Based Assessments (SBA) in Grade 3, 4 and 5. The assessments contribute 60 marks in the final test. The KPSEA exam will carry 40 marks to give total of 100 marks.

The Grade 6 regular learners will sit for five subjects in their final assessment in primary school.

These are; Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Integrated Science and Creative Art and Social Studies.

Knec Competency Based Assessment (CBA) Coordinator Ann Ngatia explained that Integrated and Creative Sciences will be an integration of various subjects and that the five will be part of the KPSEA at the end of primary school.

“The exam will be a multiple-choice test covering the five papers. IS will see us combine science and technology and will cover Home Science, Agriculture, and Physical Health while CASS will combine Art and Craft, Music, Social Studies and religious education (CRE, IRE and HRE),” she noted.

The coordinator added that the primary school results will be determined by the School Based Assessment (SBA), which is done every year in the upper primary classes and the five-subject summative national examination.

“We will have a 60 per cent of the score coming from SBA spread over Grade Three, Four and Five and 40 per cent from the summative report so that we do not rely on a one-time assessment to determine the potential of the learner,” Ngatia added.

Ngatia expounded that the school-based evaluation will be done in form of projects, practicals, portfolios and oral assessments to allow learners to demonstrate what they have learnt, this will be executed by the classroom teachers guided by Knec.

On his part, Deputy Director for Secondary Education Lawrence Karundi noted that the Junior Secondary Schools will be domiciled in high schools.

He also revealed that the Grade Seven to Eight students will be day scholars.

“When it comes to the issue of dormitories, especially with the junior secondary, our focus is that this should be a day school, not boarding. The transition will be in such a way that students join schools within where they are now, therefore, boarding may not be necessary,” Karundi stated.

Deputy Director in the State Department for the Implementation of Curriculum Reforms, Ruth Mugambi added that the Grade Six candidates will be placed into Junior Secondary Schools based on their performance, subjects chosen and the ability to join the day schools.

“Placement will be determined by the performance of the learners in Grade Six report and the optional subjects that they will have chosen. The students will be informed which schools offer the subjects within their proximity based on guidelines from the ministry,” Mugambi added.

Knec will also carry out a piloting of KPSEA national exams in September in selected schools.

According to the pilot assessment schedule released by Knec the study will start on 28th and end on 30th September 2022.

The Grade six November national exams will be purely in multiple choice questions.

The test, which will be done from 28th to 30th November 2022, will be known as Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).

The samples for the exams have also been released, showing that the test will only involve multiple choice questions with English composition and Kiswahili Insha not tested.

However teachers have raised alarm, saying the learners all along have been subjected to open ended questions as required by Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) and are worried that they may not tackle objective questions effectively in the upcoming national exams.

One of the teachers, Mr Mutahi Miricho, faults the examiner for changing goal post when they know very well the learners have been doing structured questions since Grade one.

Miricho, a teacher of English at Judea School in Bomet, says unless the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) train learners to answer such questions it will be unfair for the learners.

“The learners need to be trained on how to use personalized mark sheets as they have not used them in previous CBC assessments. They need to learn how to use the time given for each paper,” says Miricho.

Grade six learners did there School Based Assessments (SBA) in Grade 3, 4 and 5. The assessments contribute 60 marks in the final test. The KPSEA exam will carry 40 marks to give total of 100 marks.

The Grade 6 regular learners will sit for five subjects in their final assessment in primary school.

These are; Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Integrated Science and Creative Art and Social Studies.

Knec Competency Based Assessment (CBA) Coordinator Ann Ngatia explained that Integrated and Creative Sciences will be an integration of various subjects and that the five will be part of the KPSEA at the end of primary school.

“The exam will be a multiple-choice test covering the five papers. IS will see us combine science and technology and will cover Home Science, Agriculture, and Physical Health while CASS will combine Art and Craft, Music, Social Studies and religious education (CRE, IRE and HRE),” she noted.

The coordinator added that the primary school results will be determined by the School Based Assessment (SBA), which is done every year in the upper primary classes and the five-subject summative national examination.

“We will have a 60 per cent of the score coming from SBA spread over Grade Three, Four and Five and 40 per cent from the summative report so that we do not rely on a one-time assessment to determine the potential of the learner,” Ngatia added.

Ngatia expounded that the school-based evaluation will be done in form of projects, practicals, portfolios and oral assessments to allow learners to demonstrate what they have learnt, this will be executed by the classroom teachers guided by Knec.

On his part, Deputy Director for Secondary Education Lawrence Karundi noted that the Junior Secondary Schools will be domiciled in high schools.

He also revealed that the Grade Seven to Eight students will be day scholars.

“When it comes to the issue of dormitories, especially with the junior secondary, our focus is that this should be a day school, not boarding. The transition will be in such a way that students join schools within where they are now, therefore, boarding may not be necessary,” Karundi stated.

Deputy Director in the State Department for the Implementation of Curriculum Reforms, Ruth Mugambi added that the Grade Six candidates will be placed into Junior Secondary Schools based on their performance, subjects chosen and the ability to join the day schools.

“Placement will be determined by the performance of the learners in Grade Six report and the optional subjects that they will have chosen. The students will be informed which schools offer the subjects within their proximity based on guidelines from the ministry,” Mugambi added.

Knec will also carry out a piloting of KPSEA national exams in September in selected schools.

According to the pilot assessment schedule released by Knec the study will start on 28th and end on 30th September 2022.