Parents whose children are in Grade 6 have been urged to not buy model test papers intended for the first end-of-primary-school assessment under the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) scheduled to be done this November.
Some firms have already started selling model test papers for summative assessment which takes around forty per cent of the overall score. The remaining 60% comes from formative assessments in Grades 4, 5 and 6.
The assessment’s final score will determine the placement of CBC learners in Junior Secondary School (JSS) with its debut in JSS on the horizon.
“Learners are going to be assessed in Grade 6 and there are people selling model papers supposedly for that grade. Do not buy them…they must be approved by the KICD.
“We want to make this assessment as natural as possible, almost like what they do in school on a day-to-day basis,” said the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Charles Ong’ondo.
Prof Ong’ondo informed parents that the learners have already earned 60% of the ability via the 20 marks gained from Grades 4, 5 and 6.
He revealed that the curriculum JSS allows learners to identify their preferred pathways in senior secondary school.
According to Prof Ong’ondo, this is in line with the psychological age of these children. He said that the learners are aged 12 and some are a little older in the ages of 13, 14 and 15.
In addition, the KICD CEO revealed that psychologically this is the most volatile age among humans.
“They want to explore in school, you will see them excelling in sciences but in the coming term their attention shifts to arts. It is fine as this is an age of exploration” explained Prof Ong’ondo.
Ong’ondo was speaking while at the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) conference held in Mombasa which ended on Thursday.
According to Prof Ong’ondo. The CBC curriculum promotes the achievements of demonstratable learning outcomes in all learners at various levels.
The CBC gives learners interactive skills at the pre-primary school level.
According to Prof Ong’ondo, in the CBC, primary school is all about socialization through numeracy, literacy and social skills.
In his view, senior secondary school is a pre-career level. He said that learners here are prepared on how to enter the workforce or continue with further education.
He revealed that at this stage students will be given the priority to spend more time in areas where they have shown potential like in pure sciences, technology, and arts of performance.