Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has released the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results, marking a significant milestone for more than 1.1 million Grade 9 learners.
CS Ogamba in an event on Thursday, December 11, unveiled the new assessment outcome that sets learners on their path to senior school placement under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).
The counties that registered the highest number of learners for KJSEA were Nairobi (71,022), Kakamega (59,384) and Nakuru (54,028). Forty-one (41) counties had a significant entry of more male than female candidates, while Mombasa County is the only county that achieved a gender parity of 50% proportion for male and female learners. The five (5) 10 counties of Isiolo, Nairobi, Samburu, Marsabit and West Pokot had a significant entry of more female than male candidates.
Majority of the learners who sat for the 2025 KJSEA, that is 642,620 learners (56.84%) were within the appropriate age range of 14 to 15 years. The number of underage learners (13 years and below) stood at 35,270 (3.12%), while those aged 16 and 17 years were 415,059 (36.71%). Learners aged 18 years and above (adults) were 37,638, constituting 3.33% of the candidature. 11 Kilifi County recorded the highest proportion of over-age learners, that is, those aged 16 years and above, at 64.90%, followed by Kwale at 64.78%, Garissa at 63.38%, Taita Taveta at 62.06%, and Mandera at 62.05%.
Baringo County had the highest percentage of underagelearners, that is learners aged 13 years and below at 10.10%, followed by Bomet at 7.56%, Marsabit at 7.48%, Narok at 7.28%, and Kericho at 7.25%.
According to Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, the first-grade 9 learners will join senior school on January 12, 2026.
This year’s release introduces a revised scoring model that combines national examinations and classroom-based assessment. Under the system, KJSEA contributes 60 per cent of a learner’s final transition score, while school-based assessments completed in Grades 7 and 8 carry 20 per cent.
The remaining 20 per cent comes from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) score, which now plays a key role in placement to senior school.
Officials say the blended model is designed to offer a holistic picture of each learner by incorporating practicals, projects, oral assessments, and written tasks alongside the national exam.
The Ministry of Education maintains that this approach aligns with CBE’s goal of emphasising skills, continuous performance, and individual strengths rather than high-stakes competition.
Thursday’s release was deliberately modest, departing from the pomp that surrounded the former Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.
Also Read: How to Check 2025 KJSEA Results Online
According to the Ministry, the quiet approach is meant to reduce pressure on learners and shift public attention away from ranking, mean scores, and national comparisons.
For the first time, the country also received national exam results without merit lists, aggregate scores, or school mean scores. Each learner accesses individual results through the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) portal, which provides a breakdown of performance in the nine subjects written between October 27 and November 3.
KJSEA subject ranking
KNEC also introduced a subject-ranking model that collapses the traditional 500-mark system. Performance is now divided into four bands—Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations, and Below Expectations—spanning eight-point categories.
Scores range from 1 to 8 points, with 8 awarded to learners scoring between 90 and 100 per cent, and 1 point to those scoring between 1 and 10 per cent.
Also Read: List of Senior Schools to Offer Core Mathematics, Electricity, and Geography for Grade 10 Students
In addition, KNEC generates cluster weights for each learner based on strengths across the nine subjects. For the first time, the exam body issues a recommendation on the pathway a learner is best suited for—Arts and Sports Science, Social Sciences, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The Ministry of Education will use these cluster weights, KNEC’s recommendations, and each learner’s previously declared interests to guide placement.
This marks a significant shift away from the competition-driven 8-4-4 model toward a system that supports learners’ long-term aspirations and strengths.
With the results now live, schools are set to begin transition planning immediately. The ministry is expected to issue further guidance on the senior school placement process in the coming days.
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