What a CBC assessment rubric is
A CBC assessment rubric is a scoring guide that describes what a learner's work looks like at each of the four performance levels, so that a teacher can judge a skill the same way every time rather than by feel. It does not contain questions. It is the yardstick a teacher holds an activity, a piece of work or an observed skill against.
A rubric is laid out as a grid. Down the side are the things being assessed, taken from the learning outcomes for that part of the curriculum. Across the top are the four CBC performance levels, and each box describes what a learner at that level can do:
- Exceeding Expectation (EE): goes beyond what the level asks, confidently and independently.
- Meeting Expectation (ME): shows the competency at the expected standard.
- Approaching Expectation (AE): partly there, and still needs support.
- Below Expectation (BE): has not yet shown the competency and needs targeted help.
Because every box spells out what the work actually looks like, two teachers marking the same learner should land on the same level. That consistency is the reason rubrics are used instead of marks out of a hundred in the early grades.
Rubric, assessment book or exam: which one do you need?
These three are easily confused, and they do different jobs.
- A rubric is how you judge the level. It describes EE, ME, AE and BE for a skill.
- An assessment book is where you write the level down, learner by learner and term by term. Our CBC Assessment Books guide explains them.
- An exam or test paper is a set of questions. For those, go to our Exams & Assessments guide.
A teacher usually needs all three: the paper or activity gives the learner something to do, the rubric decides the level, and the assessment book records it.
Where rubrics come from
Every rubric traces back to the KICD curriculum design for that grade and learning area. The designs set out the specific learning outcomes for each sub-strand and include assessment rubrics alongside them, so the criteria in a rubric are the same outcomes a teacher has been teaching towards. Our CBC Curriculum Designs guide links to the designs themselves.
Ready-made rubric sets lay those criteria out by grade and learning area, ready to use with a class, which saves a teacher from rebuilding the grid for every sub-strand.
Authentic tasks and how rubrics score them
An authentic task is an assessment activity set in a real-life situation, where a learner shows a competency by doing something rather than by answering a written question. At this level that might be sorting and counting real objects, retelling a story to the class, or caring for a plant over a week. The teacher watches the task and uses the rubric to decide the level.
That is why rubrics and authentic tasks belong together: the task gives the learner a chance to show the skill, and the rubric gives the teacher a fair way to judge it. Our catalogue has CBC authentic tasks as well as rubrics.
Using a rubric well
Use the rubric to observe over more than one occasion, and record the level the learner shows most consistently. A young child can have an off day, and one observation is a snapshot rather than a judgement. A few habits help:
- Read the descriptors before the activity, so you know what each level looks like.
- With older learners, share what "meeting expectation" looks like in simple words, so they know what they are aiming for.
- Treat AE and BE as planning information. They tell you which learners need support and on which skill, while there is still time in the term to give it.
- Record the level in the learner's assessment book as you go, not from memory at the end of term.
Rubrics by grade
Our rubric sets cover Pre-Primary through Grade 4. Choose the grade, then the learning area:
- PP1 Assessment Rubrics · PP2 Assessment Rubrics
- Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3 Assessment Rubrics
- Grade 4 Assessment Rubrics
Rubrics for Kiswahili have their own collection: Kiswahili assessment rubrics.
Who this page is for
Teachers in pre-primary and the early grades get a clear picture of what a rubric is for and rubric sets for their grade. Trainee teachers meet rubrics on teaching practice before they meet them anywhere else, and this page explains the grid and the four levels. Head teachers and school administrators can use the same rubrics across classes so that levels mean the same thing in every room. Parents can see what EE, ME, AE and BE on a report actually describe. And anyone downloading for a teacher or school should confirm two things: the grade and the learning area. Rubrics are specific to both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a rubric in CBC? A scoring guide that describes what a learner's work looks like at each of the four performance levels, Exceeding, Meeting, Approaching and Below Expectation, so a teacher can judge a skill consistently.
What are the four CBC performance levels? Exceeding Expectation (EE), Meeting Expectation (ME), Approaching Expectation (AE) and Below Expectation (BE).
Is a rubric the same as an assessment book? No. The rubric is how you decide the level; the assessment book is where you record it for each learner, term by term.
What is an authentic task in CBC? An assessment activity set in a real-life situation, where the learner shows a skill by doing something rather than by answering a written question. The teacher scores it with a rubric.
Do rubrics contain test questions? No. A rubric describes levels of performance. For questions and practice papers, see our Exams & Assessments guide.
Which grades do you have rubrics for? Pre-Primary (PP1 and PP2) and Grades 1 to 4. Open the grade, then the learning area, in the links above.
Related resources
To record the levels a rubric gives you, see our CBC Assessment Books guide. For the outcomes rubrics are built from, see the CBC Curriculum Designs guide.
Download the assessment rubrics
The CBC assessment rubrics are in our catalogue, organised by grade and learning area, alongside the authentic tasks they are used with. Use the grade links above, or the links below to open each collection.