The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has officially rolled out the 2025 Term Three School-Based Assessments (SBA) for both primary and junior school learners across the country.

The release by KNEC marks yet another key milestone in the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which relies heavily on continuous assessment to evaluate learners’ progress.

In a circular issued to schools, KNEC confirmed that the SBA written tests were made available on its Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) online portal on 29th September 2025. Schools are expected to immediately access, download, and begin administering the tests to learners.

The Council has further directed that all scores from the assessments be uploaded to the CBA portal no later than 23rd October 2025, giving schools a fixed timeline to complete the process.

According to the assessment framework, SBAs are administered every year, with learners undertaking practicals and project work in Term Two before sitting for the written SBA tests in Term Three.

This model is designed to ensure that learners are assessed in a holistic manner that includes knowledge, practical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.

However, Grade 6 and Grade 9 learners are exempted from the SBA during this period. Instead, they focus exclusively on their national summative assessments, the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) for Grade 6 and the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade 9.

For the other classes, the SBA coverage is as follows:

Grade 3: Learners will sit written tests in only two learning areas, Mathematics and English.

Grades 4 and 5: These learners will be assessed in a broader range of subjects, including Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Kenyan Sign Language, Agriculture, Science & Technology, Social Studies, Religious Education (CRE/IRE/HRE), and Creative Arts.

Grades 7 and 8: At the junior school level, learners will be tested in English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Kenyan Sign Language, Integrated Science, Agriculture, Social Studies, Religious Education (CRE/IRE/HRE), Creative Arts, Sports, and Pre-Technical Studies.

Importantly, the SBA scores contribute significantly to learners’ final assessments. For instance, both Grade 7 and Grade 8 SBAs each account for 10% of the final KJSEA results, bringing the total contribution to 20% by the time a learner completes Grade 9.

This underscores the importance of consistent performance in school-based evaluations.

Accessing the CBA Portal

Currently, only a limited number of the SBA test papers have been uploaded onto the KNEC CBA portal, with more expected to follow progressively.

To access the portal, head teachers are required to log in using their official school credentials through the link: https://cba.knec.ac.ke

In case of login or password-related challenges, schools have been advised to seek assistance from their respective Sub-County Directors of Education, who are authorized to reset the passwords. This ensures that all institutions, regardless of location, can effectively access and administer the assessment tools.

KNEC has provided a comprehensive user manual on the CBA portal to guide teachers through the process of downloading test tools, following instructions, applying scoring guides, and uploading learners’ results.

To maintain the integrity and quality of the assessments, the Council has emphasized that any assessment materials containing images must either be printed in colour or uploaded directly onto digital devices available at the school.

Head teachers have been further instructed to keep detailed records and evidence of all assessments administered. This includes learners’ scripts, scoring sheets, and any project work carried out during the term. Such records are crucial not only for accountability but also for reference during external audits and verification exercises.

Strengthening Competence By releasing the Term Three SBAs, KNEC continues to strengthen the CBC’s assessment framework, which shifts focus from high-stakes examinations to continuous, skills-based evaluation.

Through SBAs, learners are tested progressively, ensuring that their unique abilities, creativity, and problem-solving skills are captured throughout the year rather than in one final exam.

The Council has reminded schools and teachers that adherence to timelines is critical, as delays in administering or uploading SBA results could affect the national reporting of learner performance. With the set deadline of 23rd October 2025, schools have just over three weeks to complete the exercise.

As Kenya’s education sector continues to transition fully into the CBC, the rollout of the 2025 Term Three SBAs is expected to provide valuable data on learner progress while also shaping how teachers approach classroom instruction and assessments in the future.