Grade 3 pupils to be assessed in new curriculum

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha addresses a press conference at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi on March 28, 2019. The ministry is keen on implementing the new curriculum. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Knec Chief Executive Officer Mercy Karogo said the assessment will be done at the end of each tier of education.
  • Prof Magoha said the new curriculum will transform the country by identifying and nurturing students' potential.

Grade Three learners studying the new competency-based curriculum launched this year will now be subjected to a national assessment before proceeding to the next level.

The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) announced that learners will be subjected to a test called Kenya Early Years Assessment.

Knec Chief Executive Officer Mercy Karogo said the assessment will be done at the end of each tier of education.

This is unlike the 8-4-4 curriculum where learners have been sitting their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education at the end of their year in Standard Eight.

The new curriculum embraces a 2-6-3-3-3 system.

It involves: two years of pre-primary education, three years of lower primary, three years of upper primary, three years of lower secondary, three years of senior secondary; and three years in tertiary education.

COMPETENCIES

The students will be assessed in English, mathematics and integrated learning to determine their capability to apply the knowledge, skills, attitude and values.

“The ongoing education reforms call for a shift in the mode of instruction and assessment, with emphasis on the use of key inquiry questions for each topic,” she said.

Apart from written tests, Ms Karogo said teachers can embrace oral tests for language proficiency, observation schedules, use of rubrics that give a qualitative description of what a learner is able to do, use of projects in a small way, and use of portfolio assessment to gather evidence of learning over a given period.

On Monday, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha said the new curriculum will transform the country by identifying and nurturing students' potential.