The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has revealed that the upcoming Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) national examination will be marked using new technology and teachers will not be involved in the exercise.
KNEC acquired Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) machines which will electronically score the Grade 6 examinations.
The machine marks the work of candidates by capturing their answer sheets using specialised scanning.
The examinations are multiple choice questions which will be marked with ease using the OMR machines.
The machines mark candidates’ scripts in bunches of 100 and 200 sheets making the process take a short time unlike in previous years when marking was taking a long time.
The machines electronically scored the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in last year’s national examinations.
The Examiner has been providing online copies that schools download and print for their learners to have prior experience on how the national examination will be. Teachers then mark the examinations and feed the final results online.
Grade 6 learners will sit for their final test starting 28th to 30th November 2022. Grade 6 teachers will sit for five subjects which include Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Integrated Science and Creative Art and Social Studies.
According to the KNEC CBC Coordinator Ann Ngatia, the examination will be a multiple choice that will cover five papers.
“We will combine sciences and technology and will cover Home Science, Agriculture and Physical Health while CASS will combine Art and Craft, Music, Social Studies and Religious Education (CRE, IRE, HRE),” she said.
School-Based Assessment will determine primary school results (SBA) which are done every year in upper primary classes and the five-subject Summative National Examination.
The SBA will be done in form of projects, practicals, portfolios and oral assessments allowing learners t demonstrate what they have learnt.