04/03/2026
The CBE train has left the station, and no, it’s not coming back
If you were waiting for the wheels of change in CBE to fall off, not only are they still on, but they’ve picked up enough momentum to awaken our institutions of higher learning.
The old era of cram, sit, and sweat is being replaced by something a bit more sophisticated.
The most exciting update is that our universities are finally talking to KNEC. They are figuring out how your future Grade 12 learner(who will have spent years building portfolios rather than just memorizing dates) will actually get into campus.
We’ve moved from academic ranking to Competency-Based Assessment (CBA). In the higher education world, they’re realizing that a student who can actually fix a circuit or code an app is just as valuable as one who can recite the whole periodic table in their sleep.
But there’s an🐘 in the staff room and we need to clear the confusion.
To many parents and teachers, the word ‘Portfolio’ has become synonymous with a display folder that you buy at the bookstore for 200 shillings. Let's clear this up once and for all.
A portfolio is not a scrapbook. It is NOT a collection of colorful drawings, receipts, and ‘good job’ stickers pasted on a folder.
A portfolio is a curated body of evidence. Think of it as a chef’s signature tasting menu. It is proof (digital or physical) that a learner has mastered a specific skill or competence. It’s the process, the reflection, and the result all in one.
This is a polite request to our Kenyan teachers. We love your enthusiasm, but please stop asking parents to go buy a portfolio.. You can’t buy a competency at a supermarket.
If we are going to assess CBC the right way, we have to understand assessment tools and describe them correctly.
