Competency-Based Assessment kicks off in Kericho schools

Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) has kicked off in Primary schools within Kericho County for pupils in Grade 3, 4, and 5 after Kenya National Examination Council uploaded the CBA tools on the KNEC portal allowing schools to download, print, and administer the assessments.

In Kericho County, learners from 125 private and public schools are going through the assessment which aims at testing and building the knowledge, skills and abilities of the learner to prove their competency.

According to the Kericho Sub-County Examination Officer Omari Mukaya, learners must demonstrate an ability to work through specific units of competency using the benchmarks provided by industry-defined standards.

Mokaya has pointed out that some of the competency-based assessment tools include interviews, case studies, assessment centers, questionnaires, and tests.

He added that the need for the assessment is to prepare the learners for today’s dynamic world, where the stress is on sharpening current capabilities and developing new ones in order to stay ahead.

“Competency-based evaluation in education is not just about developing new skills, rather defining the competency levels at different stages of expertise. This helps the learners gradually progress from novice to expert. The very concept of competency-based assessment can form a super foundation for a succession planning process,” said Mokaya.

He further elaborated that after Grades 3,4 and 5 are assessed, they will proceed to grade 6 before joining Junior secondary then senior secondary after which they will join tertiary or technical Institutions to further their studies.

“This is a very important government project in the success of the CBC in the country and all participants should work with excellence and integrity to achieve this goal for our children and future generations,” Mokaya stressed.

He also said the type of examination learners will tackle in the CBA is oral, practical, and written noting that he expects better results since learners have been adequately equipped with knowledge since the onset of the CBC.