The Kenya National Examination Council./FILE
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has moved to clarify how the new Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) grading system works, dismissing claims that the framework is confusing.
The Council also dismissed claims that the new grading system deliberately lowers standards warning schools against circulating what it termed misleading and fake analysis of results.
Knec has since provided fresh details on how results from the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) are graded, and explained how the new approach differs from the old national grading system under the 8-4-4 curriculum.
The Council's clarification comes amid reports circulating in some schools about aggregate scores and mean grades that the council says do not apply to the KJSEA system.
In a statement released earlier today, the examinations body said it has seen “fake and inaccurate KJSEA results analysis” and urged schools to stop misleading the public.
KNEC stated: “Unlike the former system, KJSEA does not provide an aggregate score. Why? Because CBC is about nurturing individual potential, not ranking learners. Each subject is assessed independently, and learners’ achievements are reported using performance levels, not totals. 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.”
Under the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) assessment model, learner performance in KJSEA is reported through descriptive achievement levels, not a single total score across subjects.
KNEC uses four main performance levels — Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations, and Below Expectations — each divided into two sub-levels to create an eight-point scale ranging from EE1 (8 points) to BE2 (1 point).
These descriptors are designed to reduce unhealthy competition and better reflect mastery of competencies in individual subjects.
"Achievements under the Competency-Based Assessment Framework (CBAF) are reported using four level descriptors: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations, and Below Expectations. These are put into an eight-point scale by subdividing each descriptor into two levels," Knec said in a statement.
The shift marks a clear departure from Kenya’s former 8-4-4 grading system, which relied on aggregate scores and mean grades to evaluate learners at key national examinations such as the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Under 8-4-4, learners received scores and grades in subjects that were combined into an overall mean score, often used to compare performance among schools and to determine placement into secondary and tertiary institutions.
The old system assigned letter grades — from A to E — based on raw marks and then calculated a total score that could be used to rank students and determine opportunities for further education.
Knec explained that the 8-4-4 era’s heavy reliance on overall scores contributed to competition among learners and schools for high mean grades.
In contrast, the CBC’s KJSEA approach focuses on individual subject achievement, reinforcing that a learner’s performance in one area does not negatively affect their overall reported result simply because another subject was weaker.
Under the CBC model, performance descriptors aim to provide a broader view of learners’ strengths and areas for support without reducing achievement to a single number, something KNEC says aligns with modern education priorities.
The council said there is no overall aggregate score, no total points combining subjects, and no mean grade or school mean score in KJSEA, and it urged educational institutions to communicate this accurately to learners and parents as Kenya continues the nationwide transition from the 8-4-4 system to CBC.
