Grade 10 SBA 2026: Dates, the 15 Percent, and the Parent Checklist (Updated Weekly)

Last updated: 13 August 2026. This page is refreshed weekly through the assessment season as KNEC issues new guidance.

The short answer: Grade 10 School-Based Assessment (SBA) is the first formally scored assessment of Kenya's first Senior School cohort. Projects and practicals were administered in Term 2 through the KNEC CBA portal, written SBA tests run during Term 3, and schools must upload every learner's scores by 31 October 2026. Grade 10 SBA counts for 15 percent of the final score your child graduates Senior School with at the end of Grade 12. It is not a mock. It is the first real deposit into the certificate.

The 2026 Grade 10 SBA timeline

Exact written-test dates vary by school because principals schedule them inside the KNEC window, and most schools sit them well before late October to leave time for marking, moderation and uploading. Ask your school for its dates this week if you do not know them.

How the 15 percent actually works

Under the CBE senior school assessment model, your child's final Grade 12 outcome is built from continuous assessment across Grades 10 to 12 plus the final examination. The Grade 10 SBA contributes 15 percent of that final score. Three things follow:

1. Nothing this year is a rehearsal. A learner who treats Grade 10 as a warm-up year hands away marks that can never be recovered in Grade 12.
2. Consistency beats cramming. The remaining continuous-assessment percentages arrive in Grades 11 and 12; the habits built now compound.
3. Evidence matters as much as knowledge. Projects and practicals are scored on documented work: a brilliant project with no dated photos, no logbook and no partner acknowledgement scores like a mediocre one.

What is assessed in each pathway

STEM: Core Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, General Science, Computer Science, Home Science, Agriculture, and the technical subjects (Building Construction, Electricity, Metalwork, Power Mechanics, Woodwork, Media Technology, Marine and Fisheries Technology, Aviation, ICT).

Social Sciences: English, Literature in English, Kiswahili, Fasihi ya Kiswahili, Kenyan Sign Language, Arabic, French, German, Mandarin, Indigenous Languages, and Community Service Learning.

Arts and Sports Science: Music and Dance, Theatre and Film, Sports and Recreation, Fine Arts, Physical Education.

ICT and PE are assessed at school level only. Teachers score using KNEC's scoring guides and rubrics, and KNEC has warned schools directly that over-awarding or uploading fictitious scores is malpractice attracting administrative action, so expect your school to mark strictly and moderate across streams.

Community Service Learning: the one every learner must pass through

CSL is compulsory for every Grade 10 learner regardless of pathway, and it appears on KNEC's assessed list. The evidence file is what gets scored: need statement, proposal, action plan, dated logbook entries, photos, community partner acknowledgement, report and reflection, assessed at BE, AE, ME or EE. If your child's file is thin, these weeks are the time to close the gaps.

Free deep guide: the complete CSL project walkthrough (the 6 steps, the rubric, a worked EE example). Templates for every document: the CSL Project Kit (KSH 200). Schools running CSL across whole streams use the Teacher Pack school licence (KSH 5,000).

The parent's SBA checklist (print this)

Download the printable one-page version free here to stick on the fridge; the full list follows.

1. Ask the school for the written SBA test dates per subject, this week.
2. Confirm the CSL evidence file is complete: signed logbook, dated photos, partner letter, written reflection.
3. Check which subjects in your child's pathway carry a project or practical, and whether its evidence was submitted in Term 2.
4. Set a revision rotation now: one subject per weekday evening against the actual strands, not general reading.
5. Get marking schemes into the revision: SBA scoring follows rubrics, and knowing what a complete answer looks like is half the mark.
6. Keep October calm: schools will be marking, moderating and uploading; a learner who finished revising in September walks in settled.

Revision that matches how SBA is scored

The Grade 10 Complete Revision and Exam Kit (KSH 600) bundles notes, revision papers, exams and marking schemes for all 24 Grade 10 subjects in one download, and single subjects are KSH 100 each on the Grade 10 hub. For live help, online tutoring runs four Grade 10 sessions a week (Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Biology) with notes after every class, and Somo, the CBC AI tutor, answers revision questions any hour of the day (schools can cover a whole class with Somo for Schools, KSH 8,000 a term).

Frequently asked questions

Is Grade 10 SBA an exam like KCSE was?

No. It is school-based: your child's own teachers administer and score it using KNEC tools, inside KNEC's timeline, with scores uploaded nationally. The stakes are real (15 percent of the final score) but the setting is the familiar classroom.

What happens if a school misses the 31 October deadline?

The deadline is KNEC's, directed at principals. Parents cannot upload anything themselves; what you can do is confirm early that your school is on schedule, especially if projects or evidence are outstanding.

Can a learner redo a weak SBA score in Grade 11?

No. Each year's continuous assessment contributes its own slice. A weak Grade 10 slice is diluted by strong later years but never replaced, which is why this term matters.

My child changed pathway this year. What applies?

The subjects your child is currently registered in are what get assessed and uploaded. If a pathway change happened mid-year, ask the school to confirm exactly which subject list was registered with KNEC for your child.

Where do the official rules come from?

KNEC circulars to schools and the CBA portal. Follow your school's communication first; where this page and a new circular differ, the circular wins, and this page is updated weekly to keep up.

Related reading: KNEC's full 2026 SBA schedule announcement, and the CSL project guide.