What Grade 4 exams and assessments are
Grade 4 exams and assessments are the competency-based tests and tasks used to check what a Grade 4 learner can do in each learning area, describing performance against clear levels rather than a single mark. They cover both the continuous assessment that runs through the term and the topic and end-of-term tests that look back over a longer stretch of work.
Grade 4 is the first year of upper primary – the year a learner moves from the integrated "Activities" of lower primary into distinct subjects taught by learning area. That shift shows in the assessment too: written tests grow alongside the practical, activity-based checks of the earlier grades, though the competency-based principle stays the same. This page brings together the Grade 4 assessments for every learning area in one place, in editable format, for both teaching and revision.
How Grade 4 assessment works
At Grade 4 the assessment settles into the pattern the rest of upper primary follows: each task maps to a specific learning outcome from the curriculum design, and performance is described against a rubric – from below expectation up to exceeding expectation – rather than a bare percentage. Because it is continuous as well as end-of-term, it works as ongoing classwork and homework, a regular check on how a learner is settling into subject-based learning. For many learners Grade 4 is their first experience of formal written tests, so these also serve to build familiarity with the format itself.
The Grade 4 learning areas assessed
The assessments follow the upper-primary learning areas – English, Kiswahili (or Kenya Sign Language), Mathematics, Science and Technology, Agriculture and Nutrition, Social Studies, Creative Arts, and Religious Education. Each learning area's assessments trace back to its own curriculum design, describing performance in its own terms while sharing the competency-based method.
What you get in the files
The Grade 4 assessments download in editable format, so you can adapt them to your class, your term dates and the ground you have covered. Alongside general CBC-aligned assessments, some Grade 4 material is developed against specific KICD-approved publisher coursebooks – both sit under the same catalogue link, so open it and check the file titles.
Who these are for
- Teachers – ready-made competency-based assessment, homework and test material for a Grade 4 class settling into upper-primary subject learning.
- Learners and home users – practice tasks and tests across the Grade 4 learning areas, useful for building confidence with written assessment.
- Parents, and anyone downloading on a learner's behalf (including from a cyber café or business centre) – these are specifically Grade 4. Confirm the learner's grade first, then the learning area, before downloading.
- Researchers and education-sector readers – these are the CBC competency-based assessments for the entry year of upper primary, organised by learning area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do Grade 4 assessments include? Competency-based tests, continuous-assessment tasks and homework tied to the CBC learning outcomes for Grade 4, describing a learner against performance levels rather than a single mark.
Is Grade 4 different from the lower grades? Yes. Grade 4 is the first upper-primary year, where learning moves from integrated Activities into distinct subjects and written assessment grows alongside the practical checks used earlier.
Are these the same as Grade 5 assessments? No. The learning areas continue across upper primary, but the outcomes assessed are specific to Grade 4. Use the Grade 4 link on this page.
Are the assessments tied to a particular coursebook? Some are. Alongside general CBC-aligned assessments, we publish material developed against specific KICD-approved publisher coursebooks. Open the catalogue link and check the file titles.
I've been asked to download these for a learner – what do I check? The grade first, since primary assessments are grade-specific, then the learning area the learner needs to practise.
Looking for another primary grade?
This page covers Grade 4. Grade 5 has its own detailed hub at Grade 5 Assessments, and Grade 6 at Grade 6 Assessments. For the primary phase as a whole – Playgroup through Grade 6 – start from our Primary Exams & Assessments hub, which links to every class.
Download the Grade 4 exams and assessments
The full set of Grade 4 assessments, for every learning area, is in our catalogue in editable format. Use the button below for the complete Grade 4 collection.