KCPE RESULTS MODERATION PROCESS
You’re undoubtedly curious about how the results of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination are standardized.
The technique for moderating KCPE scores is straightforward and well-documented.
BACKGROUND
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam is primarily a Norm Referenced (N.R) exam, in which candidates’ performance is compared to that of other candidates taking the exam.
Standardization of raw marks to standard marks is a method in the KCPE exam that involves changing the raw scores for each paper to account for differences in difficulty and the amount to which grades spread.
The difficulty of the papers is measured in terms of the mean raw marks achieved by all candidates in this process, while the scatter is measured in terms of the standard deviation.
The term “standardization” refers to the process of converting each KCPE paper’s raw marks into a single mean and standard deviation.
The anticipated mean for a paper evaluated out of 100 on the KCPE test is 50, with a standard deviation of 15.
STANDARDIZATION FORMULA FOR KCPE
The formula for standardization to a mean of 50 and a Standard Deviation of 15 is:
XSD = Standard Scores
X = Raw mark obtained by Candidate
M = Mean raw mark
SD = Standard deviation of raw marks
Standard scores, as opposed to raw marks, are a measure of relative performance that can reveal how a candidate or a group of candidates performed in comparison to other candidates.
Standard scores are important when the results of multiple exams must be merged to form an aggregate total, as in the case of the KCPE test.
Standard scores are useful for assessing the relative performance of a candidate or a group of candidates from year to year and subject to subject.
The cutoff marks for all grades from Grade A to Grade E are same for all subjects and are the same once the raw marks have been standardized.
