<p>If your child started school in the last few years, they are learning under the Competency Based Curriculum. It replaced the 8-4-4 system, and it works differently enough that a lot of parents feel lost at the first parents' meeting. Here is what you actually need to know.</p>
<h2>The structure</h2> <p>CBC runs on a 2-6-3-3-3 model:</p> <ul> <li><strong>2 years pre-primary</strong> — PP1 and PP2, roughly ages 4 and 5</li> <li><strong>6 years primary</strong> — Grade 1 to Grade 6</li> <li><strong>3 years junior school</strong> — Grade 7 to Grade 9</li> <li><strong>3 years senior school</strong> — Grade 10 to Grade 12</li> <li><strong>3 years and above tertiary</strong> — university or technical training</li> </ul> <p>That is twelve years before university, and the transition points sit in different places from where parents remember them.</p>
<h2>What actually changed</h2> <p>Under 8-4-4, a child was ranked against everyone else by a mark out of a hundred. Under CBC, a child is judged against a stated expectation for each skill. The question is no longer "what position did she come?" but "can she do this yet?"</p> <p>That is why report sheets look unfamiliar. Instead of 68%, you will see one of four levels:</p> <ul> <li><strong>EE — Exceeding Expectation</strong></li> <li><strong>ME — Meeting Expectation</strong></li> <li><strong>AE — Approaching Expectation</strong></li> <li><strong>BE — Below Expectation</strong></li> </ul> <p>ME is the target. A child at ME is doing what the curriculum asks of them at that stage. EE is not "an A" and BE is not "a fail" — it means the skill needs more work, and it tells the teacher where to put attention.</p>
<h2>Strands and sub-strands</h2> <p>Each subject is broken into strands, and each strand into sub-strands. In Mathematics, "Numbers" is a strand and "Fractions" is a sub-strand under it. Your child is assessed on each one separately, which is why a report can show a child strong in Measurement and still working on Fractions — information a single overall mark would have hidden.</p>
<h2>Continuous assessment</h2> <p>Assessment happens throughout the term, not only in an exam week. Teachers record what they observe in class, in projects, and in practical work. That is called formative assessment. End-of-term assessment is summative. A report sheet normally shows both.</p>
<h2>What this asks of you</h2> <p>Less drilling for exams, more asking your child to explain things, build things, and talk about what they did. When the school sends home a project, it is not busywork — the project is the assessment.</p>
<p><em>Curriculum details are set by KICD and the Ministry of Education and are periodically revised. Ask the school office if you want the current requirements for a particular grade.</em></p>