HomeEducation NewsHow Competency Based Assessment (CBA) Will Be Carried Out Under CBC

How Competency Based Assessment (CBA) Will Be Carried Out Under CBC

Competency Based Assessment (CBA) is critical for the  success of CBC implementation at all levels. Effective CBA entails  a balance between formative and summative assessments to  inform both the feedback on learning progress and transition  across the various levels of Basic and Tertiary education and  training.

Read also: CBC Transitioning And Domiciling of Junior Secondary School (JSS)

The Taskforce recommends that KNEC assumes its  leadership role in both policy and strategy for overall assessments at the Basic Education to ensure the following:  

Assessment at Pre-primary level

Assessment at Pre-primary level will be administered by  classroom teachers to inform not only learning progress but also  assess readiness for transition to Primary school and advice on  required interventions and appropriate placement, especially for  children with special needs as well as the talented and gifted.

Read also: CBC Transitioning Junior Secondary School Learners To Senior  Secondary School (SSS)

In  addition, KNEC will be responsible for building the capacities of  teachers to develop the assessment tools. 

Assessment at Primary level

Assessment at Primary level will be mainly formative. In Grades  1 to 3, teachers will conduct classroom assessment, and at Grade  3, KNEC will develop a standardized assessment tools to be  administered, scored and feedback given to individual learners by  teachers in their respective schools.

Read also: CBC Transition from Basic to Technical and Vocational  Education and Training (TVET)

The schools will then submit  the results for each learner in a designated format to KNEC to  facilitate analysis of achievement of competencies at national level. 

The report from KNEC will guide the teachers receiving the  transition Grade 4 and advise TSC in developing content for  continuous teacher professional development that targets areas requiring intervention.

Read also: Transition Of First CBC Cohort From Basic to University  Education

Further, KICD will use the report to develop  instructional resources that target areas that learners find  challenging. KICD will also use the report to revise the curriculum  in cases where assessment reports reveal that the curriculum  could be the cause of weak achievement. 

Assessment in Upper Primary

Assessment in Upper Primary will align to a policy governing the  balance between formative and summative to assess  comprehensively the mastery of multifarious competencies of  different learners as well as facilitate placement of learners in  Junior Secondary School.

The mode of assessment will entail a  combination of teacher-administered formative assessment in  Grades 4, 5 and 6, and a summative assessment to be  administered by KNEC at the end of Grade 6.

The proposed  weighting is 60% for formative and 40% for summative  assessment. The summative assessment is prompted by the need  to allow learners from across the country to access schools which  have superior infrastructure and a culture of good performance,  thus enhancing equity.  

Assessment at Junior and Senior Secondary

Assessment at Junior and Senior Secondary school will be both  formative and summative at the end of the cycle.

The Junior  Secondary School assessment will facilitate placement in Senior  Secondary School Pathways and Tracks, while the Senior  Secondary School assessment will facilitate transition into Tertiary  and University Education and Training.

At Senior Secondary  School, learners will have the opportunity to do dual certification  by enrolling for TVET qualifications, depending on their abilities  and career interests. 

Assessment of Learners with Disabilities and Special Needs

Assessment of Learners with Disabilities and Special Needs,  including the gifted and talented, will be determined by the nature  and severity of the disability and special need.

For learners with  ability to follow the regular curriculum, KNEC will adapt the  assessment items, while also providing appropriate time during  assessment administration for learners with disabilities.

For those  unable to follow the regular curriculum, KNEC will develop a  policy for various types of assessments that document the stage based abilities and fast-tracking of competencies among the gifted  learners.

To implement the Competency Based Assessment  effectively, the Taskforce makes the following recommendations for  KNEC on strategy and policy respectively:  

  1. Collaborate with TSC to train all teachers on Competency  Based Assessment of learners with different abilities; 
  2. Develop robust ICT systems to support CBA; 
  3. Develop guidelines and quality controls to ensure the  credibility of formative assessments;  
  4. Collaborate with other assessment bodies for continuous  research in CBA. 
  5. Finalize the Competency Based Assessment Framework  (CBAF) and develop related regulations. 

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