The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has come out to clarify what it terms widespread misinformation about how the new grading system works under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).
At the heart of the confusion is the tendency by some schools to analyse Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) results using the logic of the defunct 8-4-4 system- ranking learners, generating mean scores and suggesting grade-for-grade comparisons with KCSE.
KNEC says this is misleading and fundamentally misunderstands the philosophy of CBE.
“We urge schools to stop misleading the public with fake and inaccurate KJSEA results analysis. Unlike the former system, KJSEA does not provide an aggregate score,” said KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr David Njengere.
KNEC insists that understanding the new grading system is central to ensuring that CBE delivers on its promise of nurturing every learner’s potential.
“Because CBC is about nurturing individual potential, not ranking learners.”
Under the 8-4-4 system, learners’ performance was reduced to a single aggregate score derived from summing marks across subjects.
This aggregate determined class position, school ranking and, eventually, placement into national, extra-county or county secondary schools.
Excellence in one subject could easily be overshadowed by weakness in another, with little regard for a learner’s strengths, interests or talents.
The new CBE grading model departs sharply from this approach. In KJSEA, each subject is assessed independently, and learners’ achievements are reported using performance
levels rather than numerical totlas or letter grades.
These levels include categories such as Exceeding Expectations (EE), Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations and Below Expectations.
“This approach ensures that a child’s excellence in one subject is not overshadowed by weaker performance in another. There is, therefore, no school mean score as is depicted in the attached fake analysis,” Njengere explained.
KNEC has also moved to debunk claims circulating on social media and in some school communications that the “E” grade has replaced the traditional Grade A under the new system.
According to Njengere, such headlines reflect a basic misunderstanding of assessment language.
“The EE is an abbreviation for Exceeding Expectations and not a value. A in KCSE is a value. So there is no way E has replaced A,” he said.
It is descriptive rather than comparative, focusing on what the learner can do, not how they rank against others.
