2021-2022 KCSE Results to be Released Early Next Week. Here is the Grading System that Knec will use to award Candidates
Marking of KCSE Examinations
According to the latest details at our disposal, the marking of the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education national tests will end on Tuesday. Some of the KCSE examiners who had been contracted to mark this year’s KCSE examinations will clear from the marking centres today. A good number of the examiners have already cleared from the marking centres but Knec is yet to pay them.
Knec will therefore release the results for KCSE results by next week either on Monday or Tuesday before schools open for the new academic year on April 27, 2022.
New Knec Grading System
Following the completion of this year’s KCSE marking exercise, Knec recently released the grading system they will use to award scores for the 2021 national examinations. The system is based on a numeric 12-point scale from 1-12 and an expanded letter grade ranging from A to E (A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, E).
The expanded letter grade means C+ is the ‘pass’ grade that allows students to join a public university. It is a grade most students can aim for when sitting for their exams. Many universities and employers consider grades C to E as insignificant nowadays. A is the best grade a student can strive to get. It takes a mixture of grades A- to B- for a student to enroll in a good university.
The KCSE grading system attempts to measure the breadth or depth of learning in Kenyan schools. It also measures competence levels and quality of performance in students. In previous years, KNEC used the grading system as a standard measure of comparing students.
But this has changed since the Education Department uses it as a tool to assess learning. Students can use the system to reveal their next learning steps. For example, students who score B+ in Biology, Mathematics, and English can choose to learn medicine in university.
Although a student may sit for the national examinations, KNEC may not award the student a mean grade for several reasons. This can happen if a student does not meet the set requirements for getting a certificate.
In this case, a candidate will have a grade of:
U – it indicates a candidate has not met the criteria for a certificate award
W – it indicates KNEC has withheld a candidate’s results for various reasons
X – it indicates a candidate was not present throughout the exams
Y – it indicates KNEC has canceled a candidate’s results because of irregularities
Z – it indicates a candidate has not met the registration requirements
How the grading system works
KNEC grades candidates who sit for 7 or more KCSE subjects during the national examinations. The examinations body puts all subjects into five groups.