KNEC Grade 10 Assessment: Written SBA Tests Run This Term, All Scores Due 31 October

Start here: Grade 10 SBA 2026 hub: the timeline to 31 October, the 15 percent, and the parent checklist, updated weekly.

Kenya's first Grade 10 cohort has entered the most important stretch of its year. The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) released the full 2026 Grade 10 School-Based Assessment (SBA) schedule, and the timeline is now tight: written SBA tests are conducted during this third term, and principals must upload every learner's scores to the KNEC Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal by 31 October 2026.

For families still adjusting to how Senior School works, the single most important fact is this: Grade 10 SBA counts for 15 percent of a learner's overall score at the end of Grade 12. These are not warm-up exercises. Marks recorded this term follow the learner all the way to certification.

The timeline at a glance

KNEC made the Grade 10 projects and practical assessments available to schools from 2 July 2026 through the CBA portal. Schools administered projects and practicals during Term 2. That leaves this term for the written SBA tests, and a hard deadline of 31 October for principals to upload all scores.

Principals access the assessment tools with their portal credentials, confirmed by a one-time password sent to their registered phone number. Teachers assess learners using the scoring guides and rubrics KNEC provides, and schools are required to preserve evidence of practical work, including photographs, videos and audio recordings.

KNEC also issued a blunt warning to schools on marking integrity: deviation in scoring that leads to over-awarding, or uploading fictitious scores not based on the learner's own work, will be treated as malpractice and attract administrative action.

Which subjects carry projects and practicals

The SBA list spans every pathway. In STEM, it covers Core Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, General Science, Computer Science, Home Science, Agriculture and the technical subjects from Building Construction to Woodwork. In Social Sciences, it includes English, Literature in English, Kiswahili, Fasihi ya Kiswahili, foreign and indigenous languages, and Community Service Learning. Arts and Sports Science learners are assessed in areas such as Music and Dance, Theatre and Film, Fine Arts and Physical Education. ICT and PE are assessed at school level only.

Note the inclusion of Community Service Learning. CSL is compulsory for every Grade 10 learner regardless of pathway, and it is formally assessed. The dated photos, partner acknowledgements and logbook entries your learner should have been collecting all term are exactly the evidence KNEC expects schools to preserve. If the project file is thin, this term is the time to close the gaps, not the last week of October. Our free CSL project guide walks through the full six steps and the BE/AE/ME/EE rubric, and the CSL Project Kit provides every template a learner needs (there is a whole-school Teacher Pack for schools running CSL across several streams).

What learners should do with the remaining weeks

The written SBA tests draw on the strands and sub-strands taught since January. With the 31 October upload deadline fixed, most schools will sit their written assessments well before the end of October, which means the real revision window is now, not "before exams" in the abstract.

Three practical moves for Grade 10 learners this month:

1. Confirm your school's SBA test dates. They vary school to school within the KNEC window, and many schools schedule them early to leave marking and uploading time.
2. Revise subject by subject against the actual strands. Past-style questions and marking schemes matter because SBA scoring follows KNEC rubrics, and knowing what a complete answer looks like is half the mark. The Grade 10 Complete Revision and Exam Kit bundles notes, revision papers, exams and marking schemes for all 24 subjects in one download, and individual subject materials are on the Grade 10 hub.
3. Close the CSL evidence file. Signed logbook, dated photos, partner confirmation, written reflection. Fifteen minutes of tidying now beats a lost level later.

For learners who want structured support, our live online tutoring now runs four Grade 10 sessions a week (Mathematics, English, Kiswahili and Biology), with further-reading notes to download after every class.

For teachers and principals

The malpractice warning makes the moderation question urgent: if two streams award different levels for similar work, the school carries the risk. Agree common checkpoints, use the KNEC scoring guides side by side, and keep the evidence file for every practical. Schools sourcing materials for practicals are encouraged to use locally available resources and improvise where possible to reduce costs.

The 31 October deadline is closer than it feels. The schools that finish calmly will be the ones that started their written-test revision and their score moderation in August.