Kenyan grading system
In Kenya, university courses are marked out of 100 and graded A (70–100%) to E (below 40%), and 40% (grade D) is the lowest pass; the average mark sets the degree class, from first class (70% and above) down to pass (40–49%). KCSE grades: A to E, lowest pass C+ (the university entry mark).
Example · Credit-weighted average of 3 courses
Second class honours (upper division)
A pass: 60–69% of the marks. 40% is the lowest pass.
3 courses, 15 credits. Your institution’s own rules on rounding or cutting off decimals decide the grade on your record.
University grades: A to E (0 to 100%)
Undergraduate courses and degree classes at Kenyan universities, as set out by the University of Nairobi.
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | first class honours | 70–100% | Pass |
| B | second class honours (upper division) | 60–69% | Pass |
| C | second class honours (lower division) | 50–59% | Pass |
| D | pass | 40–49% | Pass |
| E | fail | 0–39% | Fail |
KCSE grades: A to E
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, set by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). Each grade carries points from 12 (A) to 1 (E); C+ is the pass mark for university entry, and candidates below it go on to non-degree courses.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| A | very good | Pass |
| A− | very good | Pass |
| B+ | good | Pass |
| B | good | Pass |
| B− | good | Pass |
| C+ | average | Pass |
| C | average | Fail |
| C− | average | Fail |
| D+ | weak | Fail |
| D | weak | Fail |
| D− | weak | Fail |
| E | very weak | Fail |
Kenyan grades and a US GPA
This page gives no US equivalents for Kenyan grades: we found no table for them on Wikipedia or from an official source, and we do not make one up. A US university reads a foreign transcript itself or through the credential evaluation service it names, and its conversion is the one that counts.
Send your grades as they are, with the scale above. When a form asks for your average, give it on your own scale and say which scale it is: the converter’s average does exactly that, weighted by credits when you enter them.
What to know about grades in Kenya
- At the University of Nairobi the pass mark is 40% in each paper and in the overall examination, though pass marks and class rules still differ between faculties.
- The degree class comes from the average mark over set years of study, for example the second- and third-year examinations in agriculture at the University of Nairobi.
- The KCSE mean grade is worked out from seven subjects: mathematics, the better of English and Kiswahili, and the best five other subjects.
- The marks needed for each KCSE grade are not fixed and can change from year to year with the difficulty of the papers.
Sources: Wikipedia, Academic grading in Kenya; Wikipedia, Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education; University of Nairobi, Examinations Guide II; Kenya National Examinations Council, KCSE Examination Regulations.