End-of-Term Exams Began Today!

As I mentioned before, Kenyan students are nearing the end of the last term of the 2009 academic year.  Today at the Flying Kites School, our students began taking their end-of-term exams.  We have four different levels (or grades) of students: nursery, 1, 2, and 3.  Our level 1, 2, and 3 students take standardized tests in six subjects: English, Swahili, math, social studies, science, and religion.  No separation of church and state here in Kenya!  Although nursery students are not required to take an end-of-term exam, our nursery teacher, Catherine, wrote and administered an exam to our youngest students so that we can assess whether they are progressing adequately.

This examination period is of utmost importance to Flying Kites: not only will it determine which students will advance to the next level for the 2010 school year, it will allow us to assess which students are particularly stunted in English literacy and in need of specialized instruction.  There are several children who joined our school from the community who had been promoted in the public schools they previously attended solely because of their age, but are very limited in their English abilities.   Starting in 2010, these students will receive English instruction through our new literacy program that we will fully flesh out during the December break from school.  All of our classes (besides Swahili) are taught in English, so an excellent grasp of the language is essential.

The testing period started very smoothly today, thanks to the help of our volunteers Hannah, Ashwini, and Christina, who acted as proctors and monitors.  The teachers have begun to grade the exams, and on Wednesday I will meet with them so we can start analyzing the results and deciding how to place the children for the next term.