Over half of KCSE candidates score above C- for first time in a decade

This outcome breaks a pattern observed consistently since 2016, when candidates scoring D+ and below formed the majority in successive KCSE examination cycles.

Candidates who scored D+ and below totalled 486,095, or 48.9 percent, an improvement from 2024, when 50.1 percent fell into the low-score category, marking the ninth consecutive year in which more than half of candidates scored D+ and below.

The decade-long pattern emerged after reforms introduced following the 2015 examination, which had been criticised for widespread irregularities and compromised assessment credibility.

Since then, tighter supervision and revised grading have coincided with persistently high proportions of candidates posting below-average grades.

The number of candidates sitting the examination in 2025 rose by 3.2 percent from 962,512 the previous year, with female candidates outnumbering males for the second year in a row.

“As has been the case since the 2023 KCSE examination, the 2025 KCSE examination results have been graded using the reviewed grading system in which the overall grade considers Mathematics, the best-performing language among English, Swahili, and Kenyan Sign Language, and the best-performing five subjects,” said CS Ogamba.

The number of candidates attaining the top grade of A rose by 14 percent, or 239 candidates, to 1,932, up from 1,693 in the 2024 examination — the highest number since 2015, when 2,685 candidates scored an A.

University entry

Learners qualifying for direct university entry hit a record high of 270,715, an increase of 9.9 percent from the 246,391 who qualified in the previous examination. The figure crossed the 200,000 mark for the first time in the 2023 examination.

Read: Varsity qualifiers rise as top KCSE grades remain scarce

The increase of more than 24,000 candidates is expected to intensify competition for limited places in tertiary institutions and place additional pressure on State funding for higher education.

Candidates scoring between C- and C are projected to form a significant intake into technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, which the government has continued to promote as skills-based alternatives aligned with labour market needs.

Subject-level analysis shows that female candidates recorded higher mean scores in languages, including English, Kiswahili and Kenyan Sign Language, as well as in Home Science, Christian Religious Education (CRE) and Arts and Crafts.

Male candidates, meanwhile, performed better in Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, General Science, History and Government, Islamic Religious Education (IRE) and Business Studies.

According to CS Ogamba, 17 subjects recorded improved performance compared with the previous examination cycle, while 11 subjects posted notable declines.

“In the year 2025 KCSE examinations, 17 subjects recorded a significant improvement in performance, similar to the number that recorded significant improvement in 2024,” said CS Ogamba.

“11 subjects recorded a significant decline in performance in the year 2025, compared to 10 in 2024.”

A total of 1,180 candidates had their results cancelled due to examination irregularities during the testing period, up from 840 in the 2024 examination.

The 2025 KCSE examination is the third-last to be administered under the 8-4-4 education system, with the final cohort set to sit the test in 2027.

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