On Monday, key players in the education sector endorsed a new system to replace the 8-4-4 system.
Today, The Standard brings you 10 key changes that teachers and students should expect.
To begin with, students will bid farewell to the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations as they know them today.
Under the new system, assessment will be continuous and more student-centered, gauging learners by their individual abilities and what they want to do with their lives.
“We will not have KCPE and KCSE in the manner in which we have it today. The transition from primary to secondary will be determined by a national assessment developed in conjunction with KNEC,” said Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Director Julius Jwan.
There will be two types of assessment in upper primary. Formative assessment from Grades 4-6 will be continuous through individual learners’ portfolios. To transit to Grade 7, a national assessment will be administered at Grade 6.
The assessment involves learners randomly sampled across the country and assessed using standardised tools, which will then be marked and analysed to get an overall picture of the entire population transiting to Grade 7.
The results will help teachers to take appropriate action.
About 80 per cent of assessment will be based on the learner’s mental ability to process issues, while 20 per cent will be on the child’s judgement, reasoning and interpretation of issues.
FINANCIAL LITERACY
For competence assessment, the learner’s capability to apply knowledge will be gauged, as well as their skills and ability to successfully perform tasks in a defined setting. This will be done through observation or testimonials.
In formative assessment, the aim will be to monitor learning and provide ongoing feedback that teachers can use to improve their teaching. This will also assess learners’ attitude and aptitude.
Summative assessment will be used to show the students’ ability to integrate and apply their skills and knowledge in a particular subject.
Lastly, assessment in learning will be used to determine individual learner’s weaknesses and strengths.
The pre-primary school children will be taught digital and financial literacy, pertinent and contemporary issues as well as life skills in the first two years.
They will also be taught how to keep their environment clean, how to be charitable to the less fortunate and religious education activities.
At Lower Primary level, learners will be subjected to indigenous language activities, hygiene, environment, religious education, life skills, creative arts and physical education.
At Upper Primary, foreign languages including Arabic, French German and Chinese will be offered as optional subjects.
Compulsory subjects will include social studies, history and geography. Agriculture, home science, and creative arts have also been re-introduced back to the system.
At Lower Secondary, learners will be taught Health Education and Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education as compulsory subjects. Indigenous and foreign languages and Computer Science will be optional.
FINAL GRADE
At this stage, assessment formative evaluation will be carried out throughout and will form 70 per cent of the final grade. The remaining 30 per cent will be from a national examination administered by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).
Learners will then be expected to select from three pathways to pursue for three years at senior secondary level: Arts and sports science (Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Sports) Social Science (Languages and Literature, Humanities and Business Studies) and Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM)
Whichever pathway chosen, all learners in Senior Secondary will have to complete 135 hours of community service and physical education.
This assessment - pegged on project work, national examination and community service - will also involve parents and other players who will look for opportunities for the learners to apply their competencies in all areas of life.
Teachers will then document a learner’s achievement.
