The Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) is the national assessment at the end of Grade 9. It is the biggest single input into senior school placement. This hub collects our KJSEA guides in a sensible reading order. Facts are as of October 2026.
1. Understand the Assessment
KJSEA explained covers what is tested, who sets it, how projects and papers fit together, and what happens after results.
2. Know the Timetable
KJSEA timetable 2026 gives every paper’s date, time and code, from English on Monday 26 October to Integrated Science paper 2 on Friday afternoon, 30 October. It also lists extra time for Braille and hearing-impaired candidates.
For the week itself, our exam-day checklist covers what to pack, the night before, the morning of each paper and the KNEC rules on phones and lateness.
3. Understand the Grades
How CBC grading works explains the 8-point scale, from EE1 to BE2, and why there is no mean grade.
4. Plan for Placement
Read senior school placement and pathways, choosing a pathway step by step and Grade 9 subject combinations. Learners choose twelve schools: nine boarding (three in the home county and six outside) and three day schools in the home sub-county.
5. Revise Subject by Subject
Each Grade 9 learning area has its own guide, covering what the KICD design includes and how KJSEA tests it: Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Pre-Technical Studies, Agriculture and Nutrition, Religious Education and Creative Arts and Sports. For the overall approach, read how to help your child revise.
6. Prepare for Costs
Once placement is known, budget with senior school fees 2026 and boarding vs day costs. Watch for the Elimu Scholarship call in bursaries and scholarships. In 2025 it opened on 2 December and closed on 23 December.
Prefer revising on paper?
The KJSEA and KPSEA revision books put the practice papers, short must-know notes and every answer explained into one PDF you can print at a cyber or read on a phone. Each book also has a day-by-day plan for the last week before the exam.
Ten-minute check: try the free Grade 9 CBC Challenge. It has 10 questions, each marked on the spot with the working, and it shows which topics to practise next.