How Grade 10 learners will be placed in senior schools using eight-point assessment system

Grade 10 learners will know which senior schools they have been assigned to before Christmas, according to a new government plan aimed at helping top performers secure their preferred schools.

The arrangement will allow parents and guardians sufficient time to prepare for their children’s reporting to schools on January 12, 2026.

The placement process is set to begin this week, following the Ministry of Education’s announcement that the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results will be released by Thursday.

Admission letters will be sent electronically through the National Education Management Information System (Nemis).

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba assured the public last week that his ministry will ensure the timely release of the KJSEA results to give families ample time to plan for the transition.

The Nation has obtained details on how learners will be placed and how they can access their results. The assessment, which had 1.1 million candidates, will be available on the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) portal using each learner’s individual assessment number.

Top performers will receive priority placement in boarding schools. The ministry’s document indicates that the top six learners per gender in each science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) track per sub-county will be placed in boarding schools of their choice.

Similarly, the top three per gender in social science tracks and the top two per gender in arts and sports tracks will also secure boarding school spots.

Eight-point scoring system

KJSEA results will now use a new eight-level quantitative scoring system, replacing the previous four-level CBE system: exceeding expectation, meeting expectation, approaching expectation, and below expectation.

Each qualitative level is divided into two points. For example, a learner rated “exceeding expectation” in mathematics will get either seven or eight points, while “below expectation” will score one or two. Learners who score seven or eight in their chosen track will be placed in boarding schools of their preference.

KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njeng’ere, in an interview with the Daily Nation, explained the changes. “We’ll not report a percentage score. Candidates will have points on a range of one to eight for each learning area. It is this that the Ministry of Education will use to place them in senior school. The purpose of junior school is to expose the learner to a broad curriculum, then assess them and use their performance to place them in career pathways and tracks in senior school,” Njeng’ere said.

“If your child has gotten four or five, six or three, you can tell if he or she is very strong or weak in mathematics, English, creative arts or the rest of the subjects. You will get the results showing your child’s performance,” he added.

The final score will combine results from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), school-based assessments in Grades Seven and Eight, and the recent KJSEA.

“From KPSEA, we have 20 per cent, then we have another 20 per cent from the school-based assessments; that is 40 per cent. Then we have the summative KJSEA, which they sat for recently, which gives us 60 per cent. We do not want to subject a child to one assessment to assess their abilities. We wanted it to be something we see grow over a period of time,” Njeng’ere said.

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• How Grade 10 learners will be placed in senior schools using eight-point assessment system
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Pathways and reporting rules

Cluster 1 national schools under the 8-4-4 system will offer all three pathways: STEM, social sciences, and arts and sports, while day schools will offer only two.

Learners have already chosen 12 preferred senior schools, including nine boarding schools (three within their home county and six outside) and three day schools in their sub-county or county of residence.

Some institutions, such as Starehe Boys Centre, allow pre-selection as they do not use open placement.

All learners will be admitted electronically through Nemis, and school principals are not allowed to enter students into the system before they report in person. The ministry will monitor daily reporting to ensure that placements are completed as planned.