What a CBC assessment book is
A CBC assessment book is the record book a teacher fills in to track how a learner is progressing through the year. It is not a book of exam questions. Its pages are mostly empty tables: the strands and sub-strands for each learning area down one side, and columns for the teacher to mark the performance level a learner reached in each one, alongside space for a written comment.
Think of it as the CBC replacement for the old progress record — the document that answers "how is this child actually doing, skill by skill?" rather than "what mark did they get?"
If you were looking for tests and past papers, you want a different page
This is the most common mix-up we see, and it is worth clearing up before you download anything.
The word "assessment" does two jobs in CBC. It describes the tests and tasks a learner sits, and it describes the record a teacher keeps of how they did. An assessment book is the second kind. Open one and you will find blank score tables, not questions to answer.
- If you want exam papers, tests, revision questions or past papers — you want our Exams & Assessments hub instead. That is where the actual question papers live.
- If you want the record book a teacher fills in each term — you are in the right place. Carry on below.
Parents in particular often arrive here expecting practice questions for a child, and an assessment book is not that. Nothing on this page will help a learner revise. It is a professional record-keeping document for whoever is teaching them.
Why these books matter more than they used to
Under CBC a learner is no longer reduced to a mark out of a hundred or a position in class. Performance is described against four levels for each specific skill:
- Exceeding Expectation (EE) – the learner works beyond what the level asks and applies the skill confidently in new situations.
- Meeting Expectation (ME) – the learner has the competency at the expected standard.
- Approaching Expectation (AE) – the learner is partway there and still needs support.
- Below Expectation (BE) – the learner has not yet shown the skill and needs targeted help.
Because the record is kept strand by strand, it shows exactly where a learner is strong and where they are stuck — something a single percentage can never do. And the record is not only for the classroom: School-Based Assessment recorded through Junior School feeds into a learner's Senior School placement alongside the national assessments, so keeping these books properly has consequences well beyond the term.
What you will find inside
The books follow a consistent shape across grades, which is why they work as a term-by-term record:
- Learner and guardian details – name, level, assessment number, UPI, parent and facilitator contacts, and space for a photo and school stamp.
- A table for every learning area – strands and sub-strands listed down the page, with EE / ME / AE / BE columns and a teacher comment box for each.
- One section per term – Term 1, Term 2 and Term 3, each covering the strands actually taught in that term.
- End-of-term summative summary – a grid pulling together CAT, mid-term and end-term results across all learning areas, with averages and performance levels.
- Teacher, head-teacher and behaviour comments – plus opening and closing dates, stamp and signature.
- An end-of-year transition profile – core competencies achieved, skills acquired, strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement, used when a learner moves up.
Some books also carry a marks-to-level key, converting a raw score into a performance level and points where a school works that way.
Browse assessment books by level
Pre-Primary
Lower Primary
Upper Primary
- Grade 4 Assessment Books
- Grade 5 Assessment Books
- Grade 6 Assessment Books – the KPSEA year.
Junior School
- Grade 7 Assessment Books
- Grade 8 Assessment Books
- Grade 9 Assessment Books – the KJSEA year.
Senior School
- Grade 10 Assessment Books – organised by pathway.
Who these are for
- Teachers – a ready-made, editable record for every learning area you teach, already laid out with the correct strands so you are not building tables from scratch each term.
- Head teachers and school administrators – a consistent record format across a whole school, which matters when learners transfer or when records are inspected.
- Parents – useful for understanding how your child is being assessed and what EE, ME, AE and BE actually mean on a report. If you came looking for practice questions, see our Exams & Assessments hub instead.
- Anyone downloading on a school's behalf – check the grade first. These are grade-specific, because the strands differ by grade. A Grade 4 book is no use to a Grade 7 teacher.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a CBC assessment book a book of exams? No. It is a record book with blank tables where a teacher enters performance levels and comments. It contains no questions. For test papers and revision material, see our Exams & Assessments hub.
What do EE, ME, AE and BE mean? They are the four CBC performance levels: Exceeding Expectation, Meeting Expectation, Approaching Expectation and Below Expectation. A teacher records one per skill rather than a percentage.
Are these called anything else? Yes. Depending on the school you may hear assessment booklet, assessment record book, learner progress record or progress record book. They describe the same document, and "assessment book" is the term most Kenyan teachers use.
Is there one book per learner or per class? One per learner. The book follows the child through the year and carries their transition profile at the end of it.
Are the books editable? Yes. They come in editable format so a school can add its own name, adjust the learning areas offered, and print as many copies as it needs.
Do assessment books replace report forms? They work alongside them. The assessment book is the running record kept through the term; the report form is what goes home. Because the book holds the strand-level detail, it is what a teacher writes the report from.
Does what goes in the book affect Senior School placement? Indirectly, yes. School-Based Assessment through Junior School counts towards the composite used for Senior School placement, alongside the Grade 6 and Grade 9 national assessments. Accurate records matter.
Related resources
Assessment books record what was taught and how well it was learned. For the documents on the other side of that — what to teach and how — see our Schemes of Work hub, our Lesson Plans hub and the CBC Curriculum Designs hub. For actual test papers, see Exams & Assessments.
Download the CBC assessment books
Every CBC assessment book is in our catalogue in editable format, laid out by grade with the correct learning areas and strands. Use the grade links above to go straight to the level you need, or the button below for the full collection.