NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ministry of Education has officially announced the results of the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), signaling the landmark transition of the first cohort of learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system from Junior to Senior School.
During the announcement on Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba confirmed that all 1,130,459 candidates who sat the assessment are eligible to be placed into one of the three designated Senior School pathways: Arts & Sports Science, Social Sciences, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Competency levels and assessment structure
CS Ogamba explained that the candidates’ overall performance was evaluated across four distinct competency levels: Exceeding Expectation, Meeting Expectation, Approaching Expectation, and Below Expectation.
Assessment scores were reported on a scale of 1 to 8, where 8 signified the highest level (Exceeding Expectation 1) and 1 indicated the lowest (Below Expectation 2). Ogamba emphasized the purpose of this detailed grading: “The creation of these bands serves to distinguish exemplary performance from good performance.”
Strong performance in creative and social subjects
The Ministry reported that 75% of all learners achieved at least the Approaching Expectation level across the twelve subjects examined. The CS noted that: “An Approaching Expectation grade is sufficient for learners to progress to Senior School pathways that require basic competencies in the subject area.”
Seven out of the twelve subjects recorded a higher proportion of candidates performing at the Meeting Expectation and Exceeding Expectation levels, indicating strong foundational competence:
| Subject | Percentage meeting/exceeding expectation |
| Hindu Religious Education | 84.62% |
| Integrated Science | 61.77% |
| Social Studies | 58.56% |
| Creative Arts and Sports | 58.04% |
| Kiswahili | 57.98% |
| Christian Religious Education (CRE) | 53.96% |
| Agriculture | 52.26% |
Creative Arts & Sports registered the most success, with 96.84% of candidates scoring at Approaching Expectation 2 and above.
Other high-performing subjects included Agriculture (96.24%), Kiswahili (93.11%), and Social Studies (92.93%).
Gender disparity and areas of concern
The Ministry highlighted a notable gender disparity, with female learners outperforming males at the Meeting and Exceeding Expectation levels in 10 out of the 12 subjects.
The largest gaps were observed in Kiswahili (64.86% for females vs. 51.41% for males), CRE (59.77% vs. 48.39%), English (52.86% vs. 48.45%), and Social Studies (62.98% vs. 54.35%).
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However, performance in key areas remains a concern: only 32.44% of learners reached the Meeting and Exceeding Expectation levels in Mathematics, and just 22.14% in Kenyan Sign Language.
Pathway eligibility and placement timeline
The assessment indicated that a substantial portion of the cohort demonstrated readiness for the Senior School pathways:
- STEM pathway: 59.09% of candidates demonstrated potential.
- Arts and Sports pathway: 48.73% of candidates demonstrated potential.
- Social Sciences pathway: 46.52% of candidates demonstrated potential.
CS Ogamba affirmed that the placement of learners will be guided by both their performance and their pre-selected pathways.
The official placement exercise is scheduled to begin next week and will be completed by December 20, 2025. Grade 10 learners are expected to report to their respective Senior Schools starting January 12, 2026.
How to access 2025 KJSEA results
- Learners will be required to use the official link https://kjsea.knec.ac.ke.
- Thereafter, they will enter their Assessment Number and any one of their registered names as per the registration data for the 2025 KJSEA Assessment.
- The results will be accessible immediately after this function.
