I have received numerous questions on how to pass KCSE mathematics. I will describe some of the reasons why many students fail KCSE mathematics and what I did to pass. I hope the tips here will be of help to someone. Many KCSE candidates argue that mathematics is the hardest subject. To me, KCSE mathematics is one of the easiest subjects to pass.
Reasons why I think KCSE mathematics is one of the easiest subjects
1. Mathematics concepts never change and will never change. The way a problem was solved in the 19th century is the same way it is solved today in the 21st century. In history, presidents of countries keep changing, and you have to keep up with the changes to get questions right.
2. Mathematics formulas are the same geographically throughout the world. The way an American or Chinese student solves quadratic equations is the same way a Kenyan student does. Mathematics formulas also never change with time.
3. Mathematics exams test the same thing every year. In every year’s exam, you will find a geometry, algebra or triangle….. question maths exam. By understanding the topics tested in mathematics, you are guaranteed to pass.
4. Mathematics does not test specific answers; it tests how you understand how to solve a problem. You might miss the answer and still get a very high mark. This is different from subjects like CRE, which most students like. In CRE, if you do not know the mother of Jesus, you miss the full mark. CRE tests specific answers.
Reasons why many students fail in KCSE mathematics
Participate in Class
1. Many students have a negative attitude towards mathematics even before going to high school.
2. Many students do not allocate sufficient time to study mathematics.
3. Many students do not even do maths homework. Maths homework is one of the best ways to understand mathematics. NEVER COPY HOMEWORK.
4. Many students blame their mathematics teacher. This is wrong. The fact that he/she is teaching mathematics means he/she passed his /her exams. So he/she is good at maths (I will never agree with students’ idea that maths teachers are bad).
5. Most students do not know the KCSE maths exam format. Look at past KCSE papers; you will notice a certain trend. Specific questions come in Section A (low marks), while others come in Section B, which has high marks. By knowing which areas to focus your revision, you will score high marks.
Ways to pass KCSE mathematics exams
Practice! Practice! Practice!
Warning: There is no quick remedy in passing mathematics. Mathematics requires practice, practice, practice, practice, practice…. I passed my KCSE mathematics exams very well. I did not regard myself as a clever student, I was an average student who was in an average school but did very few things right. I will describe the things I did right to pass my KCSE mathematics exams.
1. I did not rely on the teacher to pass my KCSE maths exams. I knew I could not grasp all the concepts when the teacher was in class, so I spared a good amount of time every day to revise what we were taught in class.
- Every student knows himself or herself. I used the technique that suited me. Doing something often helps it stick in my mind, so I did this.
3. Solving mathematics problems was sometimes very demoralising for me. However, I did not shy away from trying a problem again and again. If I could not get it right after several trials, I approached good students for help. If not, I approached the teacher.
4. I ensured I had covered the whole syllabus by the second term of 4th year (form 4) (not with the teacher, but by myself). This gave me two whole terms to revise, revise and revise.
5. I allocated more time in my personal timetable to mathematics. Because it is generally hard to grasp maths concepts for the first time, I repeated the same or similar problems regularly until they stuck in my head.
HOT POINT:
After trying a maths problem, I closed my books and tried solving it step by step in my head (not cramming, but understanding what each step involved). This worked magic. If you can solve a problem in your head without looking at the book, then you are guaranteed to remember it on the exam!!!!!
Handling the KCSE maths exam
What I will describe here is what I did during actual maths exams. Other students approached it differently. That’s fine. I did what worked for me. Other approaches are good, too.
SECTION A
I always started with Section A. But, I tried to solve every problem in Section A as fast as possible. I never wasted time on any question if I did not know how to solve it instantly. This means I spared a good chunk of time for Section B.
SECTION B
I ensured I could solve all five problems in Section B (each carrying 10). This way, I was sure of at least 45 marks (assuming I got nine marks from 5 questions). This is from Section B alone.
After solving problems in Section B, I went back and looked at difficult problems in Section A. Since I had calmed down at this point, I could concentrate, and sometimes, I found myself solving some of the difficult problems. If I did not know how to solve a specific question, I avoided panicking because it was counterproductive. I left that question and moved on.
I hope these tips will be of help.
