Parents across the country have expressed confusion and concern following the release of the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results, after report cards displayed unfamiliar grades dominated by multiple letter “E” combinations.
The results were released by the Ministry of Education on Friday, but instead of bringing clarity, they sparked widespread questions from parents who said they could not easily tell whether their children had performed well or poorly under the new grading structure.
Unlike previous years where learners were graded using the familiar A to E system, the KJSEA has adopted a competency-based grading model that ranks learners using coded performance levels such as EE1, EE2, ME1, ME2, AE1, AE2, BE1 and BE2.
By Friday morning, many parents had visited schools seeking explanations from teachers and administrators after encountering grades such as “EE” on their children’s report forms.
Several parents admitted they initially assumed the grades meant failure, since the letter “E” had traditionally represented poor performance in the old system.
“I saw ‘EE’ on my child’s report and thought it meant an E grade,” said one parent. “We were used to A, B, C, D and E. These new codes are confusing, and nobody prepared us.”
Education officials explained that the new system is designed to measure learning progress and competencies, rather than ranking learners against each other.
Under the KJSEA structure, each subject is scored out of eight points, with nine learning areas assessed. This means a learner can score a maximum of 72 points overall.
The grading is grouped into four broad performance categories:
• Exceeding Expectations
• Meeting Expectations
• Approaching Expectations
• Below Expectations
Learners who perform at the highest level are graded under Exceeding Expectations (EE). An EE1 grade represents scores between 90 and 100 per cent, indicating excellent or exceptional performance. EE2, which ranges from 75 to 89 per cent, reflects very good achievement.
The Meeting Expectations category is marked as ME1 and ME2. ME1 applies to learners scoring between 58 and 74 per cent, described as good performance, while ME2 covers 41 to 57 per cent, which is considered fair.
Grades labelled AE1 and AE2 fall under Approaching Expectations, meaning the learner needs improvement. AE1 covers 31 to 40 per cent, while AE2 represents 21 to 30 per cent.
The lowest category, Below Expectations, includes BE1 (11 to 20 per cent) and BE2 (1 to 10 per cent), indicating very low achievement and minimal mastery of competencies.
Despite the explanations, many parents said the information was not adequately communicated before the release of results, leaving families confused and anxious.
Education experts say the confusion highlights the need for better public sensitisation as Kenya continues to roll out the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Officials from the Ministry of Education defended the system, saying it focuses on identifying a learner’s strengths and areas that need support, rather than labelling children as failures.
They urged parents to consult teachers for clarification and assured the public that the grades do not block learners from progressing to the next level of education.
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