Grade 10 school-based assessment exposes challenges teachers face in CBE

Having keenly observed the execution of Grade 10 projects and tasks, one lesson stands out: SBA is an involving undertaking that requires careful planning, effective time management, committed teachers, adequate resources and cooperation across the school.

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has provided guidelines and schedules for the 2026 Grade 10 SBA programme, alongside separate guidelines for Grade 10 written tests. This reflects an assessment system that is progressively seeking to capture different dimensions of learner achievement rather than relying exclusively on conventional written examinations.

### Teachers must guide learners throughout assessment

SBA, however, should not be reduced to assigning a task and waiting for a completed product. It is a learning process in which the teacher has an important responsibility as facilitator, guide, monitor and provider of constructive feedback.

Every task should begin with proper orientation. Learners need to understand the purpose of the task, what is expected of them, the procedures to follow, the stages involved and the evidence they are required to produce. Relevant instructions and evidence should be documented and preserved in their portfolios.

This first stage matters. When learners are inadequately oriented, they may begin a project without a clear understanding of the competencies being assessed or the evidence they need to demonstrate. Effective orientation gives learners a firm starting point and reduces avoidable confusion later.

The teacher's responsibility does not end there. Throughout the project, learners need monitoring, guidance and timely feedback. A teacher who identifies a weakness early can help the learner correct it before it compromises the final outcome.

This represents an important shift from the examination-centred culture associated with the 8-4-4 system. Under competency-based education, the process through which a learner develops and demonstrates a competency matters alongside the final product.

Research on effective feedback supports this approach. The Education Endowment Foundation identifies feedback as an important component of learning and emphasises the value of feedback that gives learners useful information about how to improve. Effective feedback should therefore move beyond merely indicating whether work is right or wrong.

Yet facilitation must not become substitution. Teachers should provide appropriate scaffolding without taking over the learner's work. The learner must remain responsible for undertaking the task, generating authentic evidence and demonstrating the required competencies.

The implementation experience has also exposed the importance of time management. SBA requires teachers to organise several stages of learning and assessment while continuing with their normal classroom responsibilities. Learners, too, must develop the discipline of planning their work, meeting milestones and responding to feedback instead of waiting until deadlines are near.

This makes cooperation within schools indispensable. School administrators have a significant role in creating conditions in which teachers can implement SBA effectively. Appropriate timetabling, access to resources, departmental coordination, manageable workloads and sufficient time for assessment can make a considerable difference.

The monitoring role of KNEC is equally significant. Visits by KNEC personnel to observe implementation at different levels provide an opportunity to identify challenges, clarify expectations and strengthen the process while the new system continues to take shape.

Another encouraging aspect is the opportunity SBA provides for learners to demonstrate abilities that may not always be fully captured by traditional written examinations. Creativity, innovation, collaboration, communication, practical problem-solving and the ability to apply knowledge to real-life situations deserve space in the assessment of a learner.

This is one of the important promises of competency-based education: recognising the learner beyond the examination script.

Assessment, however, must also be proportionate. Where learners are already undertaking substantial projects and practical tasks, unnecessary duplication of assessment can create pressure without necessarily improving learning. A balanced assessment programme gives learners adequate time to engage meaningfully with the tasks assigned to them.

The emerging experience therefore calls for continuous professional development for teachers. KNEC's September 2026 notice on training in item writing is a welcome development in this direction. Teachers need to understand how to construct appropriate assessment items that accurately measure the competencies intended by the curriculum.

Such professional development should not be viewed as a one-off activity. Teachers need regular opportunities to share experiences, moderate assessment, clarify emerging concerns and develop practical strategies for supporting learners.

There is also a strong case for helping learners develop the ability to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning. Evidence on metacognition and self-regulated learning shows the importance of explicitly teaching learners these skills rather than assuming that they will automatically acquire them.

This is particularly relevant to SBA. Learners cannot simply be handed a project and expected to possess all the skills necessary to manage it independently. They need to be taught how to break tasks into manageable stages, monitor progress, use feedback and reflect on the quality of their work.

For this reason, teachers require strong institutional support from the Teachers Service Commission, school administrators and other education stakeholders. The success of competency-based education cannot be placed entirely on classroom practitioners while they contend with multiple responsibilities and evolving assessment requirements.

As schools work towards the completion and uploading of SBA results within the timelines communicated by KNEC, attention will naturally focus on accuracy, compliance and meeting deadlines. But the more important question should be what learners have actually gained from the process.

If SBA becomes primarily an exercise in completing tasks, compiling evidence and uploading marks, the country will have missed an important opportunity. If it becomes a genuine learning process, however, it can nurture learners who are creative, reflective, innovative, collaborative and capable of applying knowledge to real-life situations.

The transition to competency-based education is therefore not simply a change in assessment. It is a change in the culture of teaching and learning.

The experience of implementing Grade 10 SBA is already providing valuable lessons. Competency-based education will not succeed through policy documents alone. It will succeed through teachers who understand the expectations, learners who take ownership of their learning, school leaders who provide the necessary conditions and assessment systems that recognise both achievement and growth.

The teacher remains at the centre of this transformation.

If we want Grade 10 SBA to deliver its promise, supporting the teacher who makes competency-based learning happen must be at the heart of the reform.