A report on end-of-term internal assessment tests at Kakamega High School has revealed mass failure.
The academic analysis report for students in forms 1, 2 and 3, whose contents remain classified, revealed that almost half of the 400 students in Form 3 scored a mean grade of ‘E’ in the second cycle assessment test done before the end of term two.
In the report, 182 Form 3 students scored an E grade. But according to principal Gerald Orina, the top student scored A (plain).
The performance is mirrored in Form 2, where 27 out of 514 students scored E.
More than half of Form 2 students in the school have yet to develop competencies in the English subject.
A copy of the end of the second term report card for one of the Form 2 students shows he was ranked 247 in the English subject out of 514 after getting E.
Orina confirmed the report on the rising number of E grades as authentic but said it should not be used to raise the alarm as the exam and marking was ‘moderated’ to push students to work harder.
“These results stem from a little rigid grading system. Our grading system is higher than the one used in the KCSE exam. Our exam is also deliberately set above the standards. A student who scores an ‘E’ in our exams and grading system is material for B+ (plus) in KCSE exam,” Orina said.
Though he said the top Form 3 student in that examination scored a mean grade of A (plain), he was silent on the current gulf in performance between the top students and more than half the class population.
Kakamega Central subcounty director of education Mwangi Kabora, who is also an executive member of the school BoM; parents association chairman Alfred Ambundo; and county teachers’ service commission director John Nzioki said they were unaware of the poor performance in the school.
Ambundo declined to commit to the results, saying academic performance depends on students’, teachers and parents.
“We have channels for communication, but I’ve not received any complaints from parents. It will be terrible if the picture you paint is real.”
Kabora added, “It is not possible. We’ve always set our targets as BoM and worked to achieve them. Kakamega High is our top school in this county courtesy of the 2019 KCSE exam results.”
He said a recent visit by Education CS George Magoha gave the school a clean bill of health.
Kakamega is a national and model learning institution in the Western region. It is renowned for excellence in curricular and extra-curricular activities, especially in football, rugby, drama and performing arts.
Evaluation tests, though not applied to the final KCSE exam results, are an important yardstick to gauge students' academic progression.
Edited by A.N