CBC End-of-Year Handover for Teachers: Grades 4, 5, 7 and 8

The end of Term 3 is always busy, but in 2026 it carries an extra weight for teachers in Grades 4, 5, 7 and 8. The end-of-year assessments you have just administered were KNEC school-based assessments, and the scores count towards KPSEA and KJSEA. KNEC opened the tools to schools on 28 September and set 23 October as the last day for uploading scores. Once the upload is done, there is still important work left: filing the evidence, writing honest report comments, handing over to next year's teacher, and setting holiday work that helps rather than harms.

This guide is a practical end-of-year handover routine for those four grades. It is built around KNEC's published directives and the weighting of school-based assessment, with templates you can copy. It complements our guides to Term 3 record keeping and learner portfolios; this one focuses on the handover from one year to the next.

Information current as of Term 3, October 2026. The 2027 school calendar and KNEC's 2027 assessment schedule had not been published at the time of writing.

Why the end-of-year handover matters in CBC

Under the weighting reported by The Star in July 2026, the KPSEA final score is 60% school-based assessment (Grades 4, 5 and 6 at 20% each) and 40% the national assessment, and the KJSEA final score is 20% KPSEA, 20% Grades 7 and 8 school-based assessment and 60% the Grade 9 national assessment. That means a Grade 5 teacher has just finalised a fifth of every learner's KPSEA score, and a Grade 8 teacher has just closed the school-based component of KJSEA.

There is another reason. KNEC did not only collect scores this year; it checked them. In July 2026, KNEC directed heads of institutions to log into their CBA portals and confirm the status of school-based assessment uploads for their 2026 KPSEA and KJSEA candidates by 30 July. Expect the same scrutiny for next year's candidates. The learners you have just taught in Grades 5 and 8 will be those candidates, and the evidence behind this year's scores is what supports them.

The six-step end-of-year handover routine

Steps 1 to 5 belong to the teacher leaving the class. Step 6 belongs to the teacher receiving it, ideally in the staff days before learners return in January. Many schools also set aside part of the last week of Term 3 for this work.

Step 1: confirm every score is on the CBA portal

According to KNEC's guidelines and schedule for the 2026 school-based assessment (reference KNEC/GEN/TD/SE/SBA/GUI/2026/03, dated 14 August 2026), KNEC directed schools to administer the 2026 tools, score learners and upload outcomes to the CBA portal by 23 October, and pointed heads to the portal's password reset tool and user manual if they had access problems. Before you leave, sit with the person who holds the school's portal credentials and check the class list line by line. Look especially for learners who were absent on an assessment day, transferred in during the term, or have special needs accommodations. If anything is missing, report it to the head immediately, in writing.

Step 2: file the evidence

KNEC told schools to retain all assessment records. It also told schools doing the Grade 4 and 5 projects earlier in the year to keep projects and supporting documents for verification (Kenyans.co.ke). File by class, then by learning area, and label the outside clearly.

Step 3: write report comments that say something

Parents read the comment more carefully than the level. A useful comment names one strength, one specific gap at sub-strand level, and one thing to do over the holiday. Here is a comment bank you can adapt.

Avoid comparisons with other learners, and avoid predicting national results. Our guides to the performance levels for parents and to marking schemes that teach are useful references when writing comments.

Step 4: the handover note

The receiving teacher does not need a novel. They need a one-page class summary and a short line for learners who need attention. Use a format like this.

The class summary should say which learning areas the class as a whole found hardest, any SNE accommodations in place, and any learners with long absences or family circumstances the next teacher should know about, handled with discretion. Store notes with personal information securely, and share them only with staff who need them.

Step 5: the holiday sheet

The holiday from 26 October 2026 to 1 January 2027, set by the Ministry of Education's 2026 calendar (People Daily), is long. One optional, one-page sheet per grade is enough. Fill it with review, not new content: a reading log, ten Mathematics questions a week on the year's weakest sub-strand, one piece of writing a week, and one practical activity. Families without books at home should not be penalised, so avoid tasks that need purchases. Our article on how much homework is right in CBE applies just as well to holiday work.

Step 6: January planning for the receiving teacher

When you receive a class, read the handover note before the first lesson. Plan the first fortnight around the class-wide gaps it names. If you are taking a Grade 6 or Grade 9 class, remember that this is a national assessment year: map out the year's school-based assessment early and keep evidence as you go. KNEC has not yet published its 2027 assessment schedule. Grade 7 teachers receiving KPSEA leavers should also watch for KNEC's school-specific KPSEA report. In the 2025 cycle, KNEC released the KPSEA performance reports on 13 January 2026, and schools downloaded them from the CBA portal (Capital FM). The 2026 date has not been announced.

Three extra handover tasks that are often forgotten

Learners with special needs accommodations

If any learner in your class received accommodations during assessments, such as extra time, a reader, large print or Kenyan Sign Language, record exactly what was provided and who arranged it. The next teacher needs to continue the support from the first week, not discover the need in March. Note also any learner you suspect needs an assessment but has not yet had one, and pass this to the head or the special needs coordinator rather than only to the next class teacher, so that the referral does not get lost over the holiday.

The closing-day conversation with parents

Parents who collect reports want to know two things: how their child did, and what to do over the holiday. Prepare a two-sentence summary per learner that matches the report comment, so the message is consistent. If a parent asks whether these scores "count", the honest answer is yes: under KNEC's weighting, Grade 4 and 5 school-based assessment counts towards KPSEA and Grade 7 and 8 school-based assessment counts towards KJSEA. Avoid predicting national results, and point parents to the holiday sheet rather than recommending paid tuition. A calm, specific conversation does more for a learner's holiday than any handout.

Your own review of the year

Before you hand over, spend twenty minutes on your own teaching. Look at the class score sheet and ask which learning area or sub-strand produced the most AE and BE results. Was it taught late in the year, rushed, or taught without enough practical work? Write three lines: what worked, what did not, and one change for next year. If you are moving with the class, this becomes your plan for January. If you are not, share it with the colleague who takes your grade. Teachers who do this every year build a record of what works in their school, which is worth more than any external scheme of work.

A case study: Mrs Njeri in Nyeri

Take Mrs Njeri, a Grade 8 Mathematics teacher in Nyeri. On the last Wednesday of term, she sits with her deputy and checks the CBA portal against her class list. One learner who transferred in during Term 2 has no Mathematics score; they fix it before the deadline. She files the marked scripts and the portal screenshot in a labelled box. Instead of "can do better", her report comments name sub-strands: "linear equations: sign errors" or "area and volume: secure". Her handover note to the Grade 9 teacher fits on one page: the class's weakest sub-strands are equations and percentages, six learners need small-group support, and two have SNE accommodations. In January, the Grade 9 teacher plans the first fortnight around those two sub-strands. No time is lost re-diagnosing a class that was already understood.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming someone else uploaded the scores. Check the portal yourself with the credential holder.
• Throwing away marked scripts. KNEC told schools to retain all assessment records.
• Generic report comments. Name a sub-strand and a holiday action.
• Handover by memory. Write it down; staff change over the holiday.
• New content as holiday work. It widens gaps between learners with support at home and those without.
• Sharing sensitive notes widely. Keep personal information on a need-to-know basis.
• Guessing 2027 dates. Wait for KNEC and the Ministry.

Resources for teachers

For setting next year's classroom assessments so they measure strands properly, see how to set a CBC exam that measures strands. Ready-made review material for holiday sheets and January diagnostics is in the KPSEA Complete Bundle for Grades 4 to 6 and the KJSEA Complete Bundle for Grades 7 to 9. Our grade hubs, such as Grade 5 and Grade 8, list notes, schemes and assessments by learning area.

Frequently asked questions

What was the 2026 deadline for uploading SBA scores for Grades 4, 5, 7 and 8?

KNEC set 23 October 2026 as the last date for uploading learners' scores, with tools available on the CBA portal from 28 September, according to KNEC's guidelines dated 14 August 2026.

How long should schools keep SBA records?

KNEC directed schools to retain all assessment records. It did not publish a specific retention period in the reports we found, so keep them at least until the learners' national results are released, and follow any guidance from KNEC or your county office.

How much do Grade 4 and 5 assessments count?

Each of Grades 4, 5 and 6 contributes 20% of the KPSEA final score, according to KNEC's weighting reported by The Star.

How much do Grade 7 and 8 assessments count?

Grades 7 and 8 school-based assessment together make up 20% of the KJSEA final score.

Should teachers give holiday homework?

A short, optional, review-only sheet is reasonable. Avoid new content and tasks that require families to buy materials.

When will KNEC publish the 2027 assessment schedule?

It had not been published at the time of writing. In 2026, the end-of-year guidelines were dated 14 August.

Conclusion

For teachers in Grades 4, 5, 7 and 8, the end of Term 3 is not just the end of a year; it is the close of a fifth of a KPSEA score or the whole school-based share of KJSEA. Confirm every upload on the CBA portal, file the evidence KNEC asked you to keep, write comments that name a sub-strand and a next step, hand over in writing, and keep holiday work short and review-only. About seven hours of careful work now saves the next teacher weeks in January, and protects every learner's record when it matters.