The Ministry of Education has officially released the results of the 2025 Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA). These exams were taken between October 27 and November 3, 2025, by the first group of learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
The results now pave the way for 1.13 million learners to move into senior secondary school in January 2026.
The KJSEA marks a major point in Kenya’s education reforms. It is the final assessment at the end of Junior Secondary School (Grade Nine) and is meant to show whether learners are ready to transition to the next level.
This pioneer class has been followed closely by teachers, parents, and the government because it is the first group to complete this new structure.
While announcing the results, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said performance had improved in seven key subjects.
These subjects recorded a higher number of learners meeting the set learning expectations. Among the best-performing learning areas were Hindu Religious Education, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Creative Arts and Sports, Kiswahili, and Christian Religious Education.
One of the biggest changes in this year’s release is the absence of ranking. Unlike the old system, where schools and students were listed from highest to lowest marks, the KJSEA uses performance bands.
The Ministry says this approach will reduce unhealthy competition and pressure among students. Instead of ranking, learners are placed into four broad categories: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations, and Below Expectations. Each of these bands is then broken into eight smaller levels to show more specific performance.
The scores in KJSEA do not come from one exam alone. The final result is a combination of three parts. First, there is the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) which the learners sat for in Grade Six. KPSEA contributes 20 percent of the final score.
Second, school-based assessments done in Grade Seven and Grade Eight also add another 20 percent. The last and most important part is the KJSEA summative test done in Grade Nine, which contributes 60 percent. This structure is meant to ensure that a learner is judged based on continuous assessment and not just one final exam.
The assessment covers nine subjects, and each subject has a maximum of eight points.
This means that the highest possible score a learner can get is 72 points. Even though the exact percentage marks will not be shown to the candidates, their points will determine the band they fall into.
Learners who achieve between 75 and 100 percent are placed in the Exceeding Expectations band and score between seven and eight points per subject. Those in the Meeting Expectations band score between 41 and 74 percent.
The Approaching Expectations band represents scores between 21 and 40 percent, while Below Expectations covers those who score between 0 and 20 percent.
According to CS Ogamba, these results show not only academic ability but also the learning progress learners have made from Grade Seven to Grade Nine.
He added that the new model aims to recognize different strengths and abilities instead of pushing all learners into the same path.
To ensure that parents and schools easily access the results, the Ministry has set up two main platforms. The first is an SMS service, where parents can send the learner’s assessment number and receive the results directly on their phone.
The second is an online portal at kjsea.knec.ac.ke. On this website, parents or teachers simply enter the learner’s assessment number and one of the names used during registration. The system then displays the learner’s full results.
The released results also show the learner’s most suitable career pathway in senior secondary school.
Under the new education system, students will choose between three main pathways: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Arts and Sports Sciences, or Social Sciences.
The results indicate which pathway best matches the learner’s strengths and performance. The system also suggests the type of senior secondary institution they may join.
The Ministry has assured parents that the placement of students into senior schools will be completed within a week.
Once this process is finalised, parents will be able to view the placement results online and follow up on the next steps for admission.
Digital access is meant to make the entire placement process easier, faster, and more transparent.
The release of the 2025 KJSEA results marks another important milestone in the rollout of the Competency-Based Education system.
As the pioneer class prepares to join senior secondary school, the government says it will continue monitoring their transition closely to ensure that the goals of the new curriculum are achieved.
