A new analysis of the just-released 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) has highlighted marked age-distribution differences across counties, with Kilifi and Baringo appearing at opposite ends.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Kilifi County recorded the highest proportion of overage learners—those aged 16 and above—with 64.90 per cent of its candidates falling into this category.
It was followed by Kwale (64.78%), Garissa (63.38%), Taita Taveta (62.06%) and Mandera (62.05%).
Conversely, Baringo County registered the highest share of underage candidates, with 10.10 per cent of its learners aged 13 and below, compared to the national average of 3.12 per cent.
Other counties with notable proportions of underage learners were Bomet (7.56%), Marsabit (7.48%), Narok (7.28%) and Kericho (7.25%).
Ministry data shows that 642,620 learners—56.84 per cent—were within the recommended age bracket of 14 to 15 years. Overall, 1,130,459 learners completed the 2025 KJSEA, marking another milestone in the rollout of the competency-based curriculum.
Of these candidates, 578,630 were male and 551,829 female, representing 51.19 per cent and 48.81 per cent respectively.
A total of 415,059 learners (36.71%) were aged between 16 and 17 years, while 35,270 (3.12%) were aged 13 and below.
The assessment included 37,638 adult learners aged 18 and above, accounting for 3.33 per cent of the total candidature.
The examining body used four performance levels in its grading system: Exceeding Expectation, Meeting Expectation, Approaching Expectation and Below Expectation.
The final grade comprised 20 per cent from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment, 20 per cent from school-based assessments in Grades 7 and 8, and 60 per cent from the summative Grade 9 evaluation.
Ogamba said the reporting of performance was further grouped into an eight-point scale, where point 8 represents the highest level (Exceeding Expectation 1) and point 1 the lowest (Below Expectation 2).
He said the categorisation is intended to differentiate levels of strong and good performance.
Seven of the 12 subjects assessed recorded a higher proportion of learners performing at Meeting Expectation and Exceeding Expectation.
These were Hindu Religious Education (84.62%), Integrated Science (61.77%), Social Studies (58.56%), Creative Arts and Sports (58.04%), Kiswahili (57.98%), Christian Religious Education (53.96%) and Agriculture (52.26%).
According to the ministry, 75 per cent of learners scored at Approaching Expectation and above across all learning areas.
Creative Arts and Sports posted the strongest results, with 96.84 per cent achieving at least Approaching Expectation. Agriculture followed at 96.2 per cent, then Kiswahili at 93.11 per cent and Social Studies at 92.92 per cent.
Ogamba noted that an Approaching Expectation grade is sufficient for progression to Senior School pathways requiring basic competencies in the relevant subjects.
He also reported that female candidates outperformed male candidates in Exceeding Expectation in 10 of the 12 subjects.
The widest gap was in Kiswahili, where 64.86 per cent of girls exceeded expectations compared to 51.41 per cent of boys. Girls also registered higher proportions in Christian Religious Education, English and Social Studies.
Mathematics and Kenya Sign Language had the lowest proportions of learners performing at Meeting and Exceeding Expectation, at 32.44 per cent and 22.14 per cent respectively.
Ogamba said 59.09 per cent of candidates demonstrated potential to pursue the STEM pathway in Senior School, 46.52 per cent for the Social Sciences pathway, and 48.73 per cent for the Arts and Sports pathway.
Placement of learners to Senior Schools will now proceed based on performance and selected pathways.
The 9,540 Senior Schools have been categorised as C1 (former national schools), C2 (former extra-county schools), C3 (county schools) and C4 (subcounty schools), depending on the pathways they will offer.
Ogamba said the institutions have sufficient capacity to admit the 2025 cohort, noting that 929,262 learners will exit secondary school after this year’s KCSE, leaving only three classes in session.
He said the vacated classrooms are expected to ease congestion and accommodate the incoming cohort.
