The first CBC report card confuses almost every parent who has been through the old system. There is no mark out of a hundred, no position in class, and no mean grade. Instead there are four letters, and a parent is left guessing whether ME is good news.
It is. Here is how the system actually works.
The four levels
| Level | Stands for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| EE | Exceeding Expectation | The learner has gone beyond what the curriculum asks. They apply the skill in new situations without being prompted. |
| ME | Meeting Expectation | The learner can do what the curriculum requires, reliably and without help. This is the target. |
| AE | Approaching Expectation | The learner is close. They can do it with support, or they can do part of it consistently. |
| BE | Below Expectation | The learner cannot yet do it without substantial help. It needs re-teaching, not more practice of the same kind. |
The single most important point: ME is the goal, not a consolation. A child who is ME across their learning areas is doing exactly what the curriculum asks of them. EE is not the expected outcome for most learners in most strands, and a report card that is EE in everything is worth a polite question rather than celebration.
How a teacher actually arrives at a level
The level is not an average of tests. It comes from a rubric: a description, written in advance, of what a learner at each of the four levels can do for that particular skill. The teacher observes work over time and places the learner against those descriptions.
That is why two things follow that surprise parents. First, a learner can be ME in one strand of a subject and AE in another, because the rubric is per skill rather than per subject. Second, a single bad test does not move the level, because the level reflects a pattern of work.
What to do with each level
| If the report says | The useful next question | What actually helps |
|---|---|---|
| EE | What is stretching them? | Extension work and responsibility, not more of the same exercises. |
| ME | Which strands are the weakest MEs? | Steady consolidation. Nothing dramatic is required. |
| AE | What specifically can they not yet do alone? | Targeted practice on that one skill, with the support gradually removed. |
| BE | Which earlier skill is missing? | Re-teaching the foundation. Repeating the current work harder rarely fixes a BE. |
The most common parent mistake is treating AE as a discipline problem. In most cases it is a gap, and the gap is usually one level below where the child is now. A Grade 7 learner struggling with algebra frequently has an unresolved problem with negative numbers from Grade 6.
The question worth asking at the next parents' meeting
Not "how did my child do", which invites a vague answer, but: "Which strand is the weakest, and what does moving from AE to ME look like in that strand?" A teacher can answer that precisely, because the rubric is written down.
If you want to see the descriptions your child is being measured against, our subject packs include the same four-level rubrics teachers use, and the KPSEA Grade 4 to 6 Complete Revision Course carries them alongside the notes and revision papers for every learning area. For assessment season specifically, read the KPSEA dates and papers hub, the KJSEA scoring hub, and, for Senior School families, the Grade 10 SBA parent guide.
Key Takeaways
- ME, Meeting Expectation, is the target. It is a good report, not a middling one.
- Levels come from written rubrics describing what a learner can do, not from averaging tests.
- A learner can be ME in one strand and AE in another within the same subject.
- BE usually signals a missing earlier skill, so re-teaching beats repetition.
- Ask which strand is weakest and what moving up one level would look like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EE the same as an A?
No. EE means the learner goes beyond the curriculum expectation and applies the skill independently in new contexts. It is not simply a high score, and it is not expected of most learners in most strands.
Why is there no position in class?
Because CBC measures a learner against the curriculum expectation rather than against other children. Two learners can both be ME without one being ahead of the other.
My child moved from ME to AE. Should I worry?
Ask which strand changed. Levels are per skill, so a drop often reflects a new and harder strand rather than a decline in the child.
Do these levels appear at KJSEA and KPSEA?
The same four-level language is used in school-based assessment throughout CBC, which is why understanding it matters well before the national assessment.
KJSEA and KPSEA: 18 days to the first paper
The Grade 9 KJSEA course covers all 9 learning areas for KSH 400. The Grade 6 KPSEA course covers all 5 subjects for KSH 300. Notes, worked examples, topical questions and full marking schemes in both.
⏳ Only 18 days to the national assessments on 26 October. Start now.
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