Comments on: What do the KCPE results really mean?

By: nyalik david

nyalik david — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:21:56 +0000

i am equally confused about how the marking is done last year 2008 i had a pupil who scored 1oo% maths but the guys from knec decided it was 92 and many more such examples what is going on can somebody please explain?

By: Zanzibar! « Paul Blair in the Peace Corps

Zanzibar! « Paul Blair in the Peace Corps — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:02:59 +0000

[...] tests (the KCPE and KCSE), which I previously wrote about critically (but diplomatically) here. If this pans out it would mean a trip or multiple trips to Nairobi, I am unsure as to [...]

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:41:55 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions Aunt Janet. I like the sentence strip idea. I had previously been thinking of a variation of this, in which the the pieces are interlocking so that they can only be placed in a correct location. I thought this would be good for the really young kids, who could just play with it like a puzzle, where the nouns could have cute corresponding pictures. Perhaps the pieces could even be made in the school’s woodshop. Anyhow, the paper strips sound like an easier way to start that would still be fun.

By: Hear Kenya » Blog Archive » Reflections Part 1

Hear Kenya » Blog Archive » Reflections Part 1 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:52:19 +0000

[...] Their success on the exam determines if they go to secondary school. Again, Paul wrote a great post about this exam in which he describes how it is an inefficient method to test deaf students. [...]

By: janet robbins

janet robbins — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:56:59 +0000

Oh, my! You certainly have a big job ahead of you. Actually, you could have stayed in the US and taught at McArthur Elementary and you would have seen many of the same challenges in teaching. Here are some ideas that came to mind as I was reading your blogs. Concerning testing, having a sample test is important. Using the testing vocabulary definitely helps the students succeed. Example: On a test students may be asked to locate an example of alliteration in the selection below. Even if the students know what alliteration is, they may not be familiar with the terms such as example, locate and selection.

In one blog you wrote that students couldn’t write a complete sentence. With little kids, sentences they have dictated are written on a sentence strips (strips of tag board or paper) and then cut into word sections. Use different colored markers or paper for each sentence. The students must rearrange the words to create their sentences. I don’t know if you could apply this to teaching deaf students. I also don’t know if you have paper and markers!
If you do have large strips of paper, you could write each student’s name on the strips and hold it up when calling on them for a response. This is a good way to make sure you’ve called on every student each day. Make sure you draw from the already-called-upon pile every now and then to keep their attention. It also cuts down on the chalk dust created by writing their name each time you call on them. We wouldn’t want you to come down with a case of white lung!
That’s it from my bag of teaching tricks for today. I have never taught a deaf student. Good luck.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:25:51 +0000

Yeah, I saw your school at the top of the list. I think you only had five kids or so take the test, so probably one doing well would be able to bring up the average. The ranking details aren’t public so I’m being a bit ambiguous about school names on purpose. Some trivia, though, and a hint: The one school that does consistently “well” actually had an ex-Peace Corps volunteer as its headmaster for many years! I want to go check it out and see how they do things differently.

By: The Gin

The Gin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:31:19 +0000

This is very interesting Paul, I found out this week that my school was ranked #1 in the KCPE, I think one of the student even got a 200 on the test. Everyone seems very proud at my school, even though the school was inspected for its dilapidated state ( walls missing, animals in classrooms, multiple classes in one room.) by the DEO. I had not met the previous class 8, but I do teach the current class 8, and I know that they can not write a complete sentence and seem to answer every question given with any word they know how to spell. I know my school reveling in their success but I know for sure we will not achieve this again. I wonder which school consistently scores high on the test, and if its matter of test taking skills or actual comprehension?

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:57:51 +0000

I bought a photocopy of the 2008 KCPE in town. They call them “Mock KCPEs” or “KCPE boosters” or “past papers.” 350 shillings and it’s bound and has answers and explanations. It even includes samples of what the answer sheets (the ones with bubbles) look like.

I’ve also thought about how test-taking is a skill unto itself, and how knowledge is too often demonstrated here by copying off the board… I haven’t really seen a strong testing culture so far.

By: charlotte

charlotte — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:25:24 +0000

damnit – i meant to post the most recent comment over at the most recent entry re: the KCPE – Paul – can you move it?

By: charlotte

charlotte — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:18:03 +0000

It’s interesting because I was just thinking about this but with my Form 1 students – I want to see a copy / sample of the test so I have a better idea of what they’re tested on.

My kids in Form 1, clearly has better writing skills than your vocational kids, but there’s a few factors that I wonder if they play into the whole KCPE thing – the Deafness, definitely, but the mentality of collectiveness in Kenyan society … they do things together, copy down exercises and do a lot of things similiarly and I wonder if that makes the challenge of test-taking all that harder when you have to do it alone? Do they learn test-taking skills? I’ll probably write something about that on my blog in the next week or so, after I get to know my sec school students better …