2020 KCSE FACTS: A TEACHERS’, PRINCIPALS’, PARENTS’ AND 2020 CANDIDATES’ MANDATORY MANUAL!
[2020 KCSE Practical Guide to the Making of Meaningful Grades]
Theses are simple insights that aim at preparing the 2020 KCSE Candidate class to Academic Excellence
Introduction
It is in the public domain that at least over 400,000 candidates scored grades D+ and below out of the over 600,000 candidates who sat for the KCSE NATIONAL EXAM last year-2019. Only about 125,000 candidates managed to attain the minimum university entry qualification-C+ and above. With these statistics it goes without saying that School Managers, Teachers and the Candidate class have a great responsibility for changing this narrative. In view of this, this paper aims at offering simple and very practical strategies (IN NOTE FORM) that if adopted will catapult the school performance by far:
IDENTIFY MISTAKES MADE PREVIOUSLY (2016-2019)
Margaret A. Ogola in her novel (1994): The River and the source poses, “How can you know where you going to if you do not know where you are coming from?” It is very critical to reflect and identify the mistakes that the previous candidate classes have been making in order to avoid the same pitfalls. Some of the common mistakes are:
- Failure to study and implement the KNEC reports 2016-1019
- Failure by the candidate class to master the content(syllabus)
- Tolerance of ill behaviour and habits like laziness, absenteeism from school, rudeness e.t.c
- Failure to accept and embrace the KCSE setting and marking emerging trends.
- Tolerating success limiting policies
- Failure to obediently follow through the set improvement action plan.
- Lack of an improvement action plan
- Lack of meaningful and effective teamwork
- Tolerating lots of negative energy
- Lack of a motivational policy for both the candidates and the teachers.
TO MAKE MEANINGFUL GRADES IN 2020:
- Sensitize both the students and the teachers on the emerging trends in the setting and marking of KCSE
- Come up with Term 1, Term 2 and Term 3 improvement Action plans
- Embrace teamwork
- Develop a motivation programme for everyone at school- the students, the non- teaching staff and the teachers.
- Develop and run student centred programmes
- Implement an exam system
- Make sure that the candidates and the student body in general master the content as stipulated in the syllabus.
- Create a positive success-oriented environment
- Incorporate recommendations from KNEC reports in the school programmes.
- Nurture character especially among the students. Virtues like hard work, honesty, determination and single focus must be emphasized.
- Dismantle all Comfort Zones.
- Develop Timetables Based on the Action Plans
- Design a workable programme for the Head and the Tail- Ability grouping.
Constitute Academic Teams for Academic Success (2020) with the following roles
- Personal monitoring and evaluation
- Filling in personal learning gaps
- Set own benchmarks
- Cover syllabus to the required Depth and Breadth
- Creating the right mood for the 2020 academic period
- Consider and embrace Data-driven decision making
- Consider and master ‘the how’ of academic excellence
- Making sacrifice-it is the language of growth and revival.
Indicators of an ill-prepared school for the 2020 KCSE exam
The red flags!
- Poor planning
- Lack of parental involvement
- Lack of teamwork
- Failure to start/launch 2020 candidate class programme in time
- Failure to consider and address the emerging trends in the setting and marking of the KCSE exam-absence of KNEC reports at school.
- Inability to develop, embrace and stick to action plans
- Failure to nurture character
- Failure to start addressing the challenges of weak learners in time.
- Inability to master the art of examinations.
- Negative energy and lack of goodwill.
