The study examined variations in district performance in KCPE national examination in Kenya between 2001 and 2007. The individual change model revealed that district poverty rate was not a significant predictor of either the initial district performance (2001) or the rate of change over the seven-year period. The regional context of North Eastern Province had the lowest initial KCPE performance rates followed by the Gusii districts of Nyanza. However, the model revealed that the KCPE performance rates among districts located in the North Eastern Province are predicted to improve at an annual rate of 10.31 percentage points. The study recommends that educators and policy makers seek ways to address educational under-performance and low participation rates in Kenya without over-reliance on poverty reduction programs alone. (Contains 3 tables.)