Grade 10 School-Based Assessment: Keeping SBA Records That Survive to Grade 12

The first learners of the competency-based curriculum reached senior school in January 2026, and with them came something most secondary teachers had not run at scale before: school-based assessment that counts. Projects and practicals in one term, written tests in another, scores uploaded to the Kenya National Examinations Council within a window, and every one of those scores carried forward toward a result the learner will receive at the end of Grade 12.

For a deputy head in charge of curriculum, this changes the job. Under the old system, what mattered nationally was mostly what happened in the examination room at the end of Form Four. Now, marks given by the school's own teachers in Grade 10 become part of a learner's final record. If a parent or KNEC later asks how a score was reached, the school needs an answer that does not depend on one teacher's memory or a mark sheet that went home on a laptop.

This article is about keeping those records in a way that holds up: what KNEC has said about SBA, why the school's own records matter even though scores go to the KNEC portal, how to organise assessments and marks by subject and teacher, and the habits that keep the record defensible for three years.

What KNEC has said about Grade 10 SBA

KNEC issued guidelines for the 2026 Grade 10 school-based assessments and required senior schools to register their Grade 10 learners on its SBA portal, with a registration deadline reported as 30 July 2026. According to KNEC's guidance as reported in the national press, projects and practicals were scheduled for Term 2 and written tests for Term 3, with scores uploaded to the portal by a deadline in October. Reports differ on the exact upload date, so schools should rely on the KNEC circular itself.

On weighting, KNEC was reported as saying that SBA scores from Grade 10 and from Grade 11 will each contribute 15 per cent toward the learner's final summative score at the end of senior school. Some reports also describe other weightings in other contexts, such as placement, so it is worth being precise about which figure applies to what.

The details may change as the senior school system beds in, and the guidance for the next cohort may differ from the first. The practical lesson does not change: a meaningful share of each learner's final result now starts in your classrooms, and the school needs to run SBA as a recorded process, not a one-off exercise.

The KNEC portal receives the score. The school still has to be able to show how it got there.

Why the school's own record still matters

It is tempting to treat SBA as a data-entry task: mark the project, type the score into the KNEC portal, move on. That leaves the school exposed in three ways.

First, questions arrive later. A parent disputes a practical score, a learner transfers and the new school asks for their SBA history, or a teacher who marked a project leaves mid-year. If the only copy of the marks is on a portal the school can view but not easily reorganise, or in one teacher's spreadsheet, the school cannot answer confidently.

Second, the school needs the information for its own teaching. Which learners struggled with the practical component? Which subject combinations show weak project work? Those patterns only appear if marks are held in the school's own records, by learner, subject and assessment.

Third, the record has to last. A Grade 10 score contributes to a result issued two years later. Staff turnover in that period is normal. A school's internal record, held in one place with clear ownership, survives the people who created it.

Organising assessments by subject, teacher and type

The structure of a sound SBA record is simple, and it mirrors how the work is actually done.

Each assessment belongs to a class and a subject, and is created by the teacher who teaches that subject in that class. It has a type, such as a project, a practical, a written test or an oral task, because KNEC treats these differently and the school will want to see them separately. It has a maximum mark, so a score of 72 out of 50 is refused at the point of entry rather than discovered at the upload. And it has a date, so the record shows when the work was assessed.

Access should follow teaching. A subject teacher should enter marks only for the subjects and classes they are allocated, and the class teacher should see their class as a whole. Allowing anyone to edit any mark is how scores get changed without trace. Marks should be entered, checked, and then confirmed as final by someone with authority, typically the head or the deputy for curriculum, so that what goes to the KNEC portal is a reviewed set rather than a work in progress.

Project and practical work need more care than tests

Written tests are familiar: a paper, a mark scheme, a score. Projects and practicals are harder to record well, because the judgement is spread over time and is harder to reconstruct.

For each project or practical, keep the rubric or marking criteria the teacher used, and make sure the department agrees it before marking starts, so that two teachers marking the same task score it the same way. Where KNEC supplies tools or rubrics, use them as issued. Record each learner's score against the assessment promptly, ideally within days of the task, not in a batch at the end of term. And where a learner missed the task, record that fact explicitly, so a blank is not mistaken for a zero or a forgotten entry.

Moderation is worth building in. A head of department reviewing a sample of marked projects across classes catches generous or harsh marking before it is uploaded and becomes part of a learner's final record.

A blank cell is a question. Record absence as absence, so nobody has to guess later whether a learner missed the task or a teacher missed the entry.

Plans and evidence of teaching

SBA does not stand alone. It sits on top of the teaching that led to it. Schemes of work and lesson plans show what was taught and when, which helps when a parent asks whether their child was prepared for a practical, or when a new teacher takes over a class mid-year and needs to know what has been covered.

These do not need to be elaborate. A scheme of work per class and subject, written in the teacher's own words, and readable by the head and by any colleague who covers the class, is far more useful than a perfect document kept on one laptop. Homework set against the same class and subject completes the picture.

A checklist for each SBA cycle

Before the term: confirm the KNEC guidance and dates for the cycle, confirm every Grade 10 learner is correctly registered, agree rubrics by department, and check that subject allocations are correct, since a teacher who is not allocated a subject cannot correctly record marks for it.

During the term: create each assessment with its type and maximum, enter marks promptly, record absences explicitly, and moderate a sample.

Before uploading: have marks reviewed and confirmed, compare totals against class lists so no learner is missing, then upload to the KNEC portal and keep a dated note that the upload was done and by whom.

Where Opero fits

Opero records assessments by class and subject, with a type such as written, practical, project, oral, coursework, observation, mock or exam, and a maximum mark that it enforces: a mark above the maximum is refused with a sentence saying so. Only the class teacher or a teacher allocated that subject in that class can enter marks, and publishing results is a separate step reserved for the head teacher, refused while learners are unmarked unless the head deliberately records otherwise. Old mark sheets can be imported, so a school does not retype what it already has.

Opero also holds schemes of work, lesson plans and homework per class and subject, written in the teacher's own words and readable by the head. Opero does not connect to the KNEC SBA portal and does not upload scores; the school still enters them on KNEC's system. What Opero gives the school is its own reviewed record of every SBA mark, kept with the learner's assessment history for as long as the school needs it.

Key takeaways

• Grade 10 SBA scores were reported by KNEC to carry 15 per cent toward the final senior school result, with Grade 11 SBA carrying another 15 per cent; confirm current figures from KNEC circulars.
• The KNEC portal receives scores, but the school needs its own record to answer questions years later.
• Organise assessments by class, subject, teacher and type, with a maximum mark enforced at entry.
• Agree rubrics, mark promptly, record absences explicitly and moderate before uploading.
• Keep schemes of work and lesson plans where colleagues and the head can read them.

Frequently asked questions

Does the school need its own record if scores go to the KNEC portal? Yes. The school will be asked about scores later, by parents, by schools receiving transfers, and for its own planning. A reviewed internal record, held in one place, is what lets it answer.

How should we record a learner who missed a project or practical? Record the absence explicitly, with the reason if known, rather than leaving a blank or entering zero. Follow KNEC guidance on whether and how the task can be taken again.

Who should be able to change SBA marks? Only the teacher allocated that subject in that class should enter marks, and any change after review should be traceable. Final confirmation should rest with the head or deputy for curriculum.

Will the SBA rules be the same for the next Grade 10 cohort? Not necessarily. Senior school assessment is new and KNEC may refine its guidance. Treat each year's KNEC circular as the authority.

See it with your senior school classes

The quickest way to test whether this works for your school is to set up one Grade 10 class with its real subjects and allocations and record a practical assessment against it.

Book a demo and we will walk through assessments, marks, allocations and schemes of work on a setup that matches your senior school.