Middle School Education – CBC

Middle School Education 6 years (Upper Primary and Lower Secondary)

This shall comprise three (3) years of upper primary and three (3) years of lower secondary education.

Upper Primary

Upper primary is part of middle school. It is a three-year programme where learners are exposed to a broad curriculum and given an opportunity for exploration and experimentation.

Subjects for Upper Primary

  1. English
  2. Kiswahili or Kenya Sign Language (for learners who are deaf)
  3. Home Science
  4. Agriculture
  5. Science and Technology
  6. Mathematics
  7. Religious Education (CRE/IRE/HRE)
  8. Creative Arts
  9. Physical and Health Education
  10. Social Studies

Optional:

  1. Foreign Languages (Arabic, French, German, Mandarin)

Note: ICT will be cross cutting in all subjects; Pertinent and contemporary issues and life skills will be mainstreamed in all Subjects and a pastoral program of instruction will be conducted once a week.

Subjects for Lower Secondary School

The Subjects are in two categories: core and optional subjects. At this level, a broad-based curriculum is offered to enable the learner to explore their own interests and potential as a basis for choosing subjects according to career paths of interest at senior level.

Core Subjects

Learners will be required to take the 12 core subjects provided.

  1. English
  2. Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language for learners who are deaf
  3. Mathematics
  4. Integrated Science
  5. Health Education
  6. Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education
  7. Social Studies
  8. Religious Education – learners choose one of the following:
    Christian Religious Education
    Islamic Religious Education
    Hindu Religious Education
  9. Business Studies
  10. Agriculture
  1. Life Skills Education
  2. Sports and Physical Education

Note: ICT will be a delivery tool for all Subjects.

 Optional Subjects

Learners are provided with an opportunity to choose a minimum of one and a maximum of two subjects according to personality, abilities, interests and career choices from the list provided.

  1. Visual Arts
  2. Performing Arts
  3. Home Science
  4. Computer Science
  5. Foreign Languages:
    German
    ii. French
    iii. Mandarin
    iv. Arabic
  6. Kenyan Sign Language
  7. Indigenous Languages

 Middle School.

 Assessment in middle school plays a critical role in the learning process. Since middle school offers a broad-based curriculum, whose purpose is to provide opportunities for learners to explore own abilities, assessment should be designed to provide feedback to the learners on areas of interests and progress made. Assessment will also be used as a tool that leads learners to develop autonomous learning. Support from teachers will be necessary to enable learners learn independently, determine how best they learn and at what pace. Of greatest importance, will also be the assessment tools teachers will use to improve learner achievements. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to use a variety of assessment tools that will provide critical information with regards to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes acquired by learners as well as the where the individual learners need support to improve learning achievements. The learners should also be gradually empowered to develop own assessment tools depending on own needs. These tools may include portfolios, observation schedules, checklists, journaling and projects. 

Grading of Competency Based Assessment

The transition from through basic education levels should be seamless.

The first summative assessment will be done at the end of upper primary, the second at end of lower secondary and the third at the end of secondary education.

The final grade will be achieved by adding the cumulative scores from formative assessments at each stage and the score from the national assessment body.

Excellent

This is a standard of excellence level. Descriptions should indicate that all aspects of competencies exceed grade level expectations and show exemplary performance or in-depth understanding. Learning goals are met in a comprehensive way.

Very Good

This is approaching the standard of excellence level. Descriptions should indicate some aspects of work that exceed grade level expectations and demonstrate solid performance or understanding. Learning goals are met in a practical and thorough way.

Good

 This meets acceptable standards. This level should indicate minimal competencies acceptable to meet grade level expectations. Learning goals are met in an appropriate and reasonable way.

Sufficient

Performance and understanding are emerging or developing but there are some errors and mastery is not thorough.

Not sufficient

This does not yet meet acceptable standards. This level indicates what is not adequate for grade level expectations and indicates that the student has serious errors, omissions or misconceptions. The teacher needs to make decisions about appropriate interventions to help the student improve.