Education Stakeholders have called for fair placement of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) as the exercise commences.

The push comes amid concerns over the performance of learners in the recently released examination results.

 Speaking on Friday, December 12, 2025, Kerugoya Good Shepherd Academy Director John Mugo Mutong’e, said all learners across the country go through the same curriculum and therefore deserve equal opportunities during senior school placement.

“What we are asking for is simple: let every child in Kenya have an equal chance. A fair system ensures that effort is rewarded and no learner feels left behind,” Mutong’e said.

He stressed that a fair placement system boosts motivation for learners and teachers, strengthens confidence in education, and ensures parents’ and schools’ investments are rewarded.

 Mutong’e urged parents to stay vigilant and guide their children during the festive season, as December activities can expose learners to risks, emphasising that their safety is crucial for their future.

Grading and placements

The placement will be determined by their performance in the KJSEA, which will comprise 20 per cent of the KPSEA, 20 per cent from the grade 7 and 8 school-based assessment and 60 per cent from the KJSEA.

Announcing the results at the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) headquarters in Nairobi, Ogamba said the grading has been further broken down into two categories based on an eight-point scale.

“The reporting of performance of KJSEA has thus been done from point 1 to point 8, where point 8 is the best at Exceeding Expectation, and point 1 is the least at Below Expectation”, he said.

According to the metrics, a candidate exceeds expectations if they scored 90-100 per cent (8 points), termed as exceptional.

Those who scored 75-89 per cent received 7 points (very good)

A candidate met expectations if they scored between 58 – 74 per cent (6 points ) and was considered a fair performance.

A score of between 41-57 per cent earned candidates 5 points, also considered fair.

Those who scored 31-40 per cent were ranked as approaching expectation and were allocated 4 points (You need improvement).

A 21-30 per cent score earned candidates 3 points (below average).

Candidates in the category of below expectation are those who scored 11-20 per cent (2 points) and were ranked as below average, while the last lot that scored 1-10 per cent got one point (minimal).

Ogamba said the creation of the bands serves to distinguish exemplary performance from good performance.

The CS said that out of the 12 subjects assessed at KJSEA, seven recorded a higher proportion of learners performing at Meeting Expectation and Exceeding Expectation.

These were Hindu Religious Education (84.62 per cent); Integrated Science (61.77 per cent); Social Studies (58.56 per cent); Creative Arts and Sports (58.04 per cent); Kiswahili (57.98 per cent); Christian Religious Education (53.96 per cent), and Agriculture at 52.26 per cent.

The CS said 75 per cent of learners performed at Approaching Expectation and above across all subjects, known as learning areas under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).

“Creative Arts and Sports registered the strongest performance with 96.84 per cent of candidates attaining Approaching Expectation and above,” Ogamba said.