End of term arrives. Your child hands you a report card. You open it expecting marks out of 100 and instead find letters: BE, AE, ME, EE. There are strands, sub-strands, teacher comments and a section you have never seen before. You have no idea whether your child is doing well or not.
You are not alone. The CBE report card is genuinely different from what most Kenyan parents grew up with. This guide walks through every section so you can read it confidently and know exactly what action to take.
The Four Performance Levels
The most important thing to understand is that CBE does not use marks out of 100. It uses four performance levels to describe what a learner can do relative to the expected standard for their grade.
ME is the target. A child who is consistently at ME across all learning areas is performing exactly where they should be. EE is excellent but it is not the baseline expectation. AE means work is needed. BE means the situation needs to be addressed urgently.
The Eight Sub-Levels
From 2025 onward, KNEC expanded the four levels into eight sub-levels to give more precise feedback. Each main level now has two sub-levels.
| Sub-Level | Main Level | Score Range | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| EE1 | Exceeding Expectation | 90 to 100% | 8 |
| EE2 | Exceeding Expectation | 75 to 89% | 7 |
| ME1 | Meeting Expectation | 58 to 74% | 6 |
| ME2 | Meeting Expectation | 50 to 57% | 5 |
| AE1 | Approaching Expectation | 40 to 49% | 4 |
| AE2 | Approaching Expectation | 30 to 39% | 3 |
| BE1 | Below Expectation | 20 to 29% | 2 |
| BE2 | Below Expectation | 0 to 19% | 1 |
Not all schools display sub-levels on every report card. Some still use the four main levels only. Both formats are valid under the current system.
Strands and Sub-Strands
Each learning area on the report card is broken down into strands and sub-strands. A strand is a broad topic within a learning area. A sub-strand is a specific skill within that topic.
For example, in Mathematics, one strand might be Numbers. Within that strand, sub-strands might include Whole Numbers, Fractions and Decimals. Your child receives a performance level for each sub-strand, not just one overall mark for Mathematics.
This is more detailed than the old 8-4-4 system. It tells you exactly which part of a subject your child is struggling with, not just that they got 45 percent in Maths. A child who is AE in Fractions but EE in Geometry needs very different support from a child who is BE across all Mathematics sub-strands.
Reading the Teacher Comments
The teacher comment section is the most underread part of the CBE report card. Most parents look at the grade levels and stop there. The comments contain specific, actionable information that the grade level alone cannot give you.
A comment that says "Amina participates well in oral activities but needs more practice with written composition" tells you exactly where to focus at home. A comment that says "Needs to complete all assigned projects on time" is telling you there is a discipline or organisation issue, not a learning difficulty. Read every comment carefully.
The SBA Section
From Grade 7 onward, the report card includes a School-Based Assessment section. This records the SBA scores that contribute to the 20 percent SBA component of senior school placement. These scores accumulate across Grades 7, 8 and 9.
A learner who is consistently at ME or above in SBA across all three junior secondary years is building a solid 20 percent foundation for their placement score. A learner who is frequently absent or submits incomplete SBA tasks is losing placement points that cannot be recovered later.
If you want to understand exactly how the placement formula works, read our guide on how senior school placement is calculated.
What to Do After Reading the Report Card
Reading the report card is only useful if it leads to action. Here is a simple framework for what to do based on what you find.
Questions to Ask the Teacher
The parent-teacher meeting after report cards is one of the most valuable conversations you can have. Most parents use it to ask "why did my child get AE?" The better questions are more specific.
Ask which specific sub-strands are causing the AE or BE result. Ask what the teacher has already tried in class to address it. Ask what you can do at home that will complement what the teacher is doing, not duplicate it. Ask whether the issue is understanding, effort, attendance or something else entirely.
A teacher who is asked specific questions gives specific answers. A teacher who is asked "why is my child failing?" gives a general answer that does not help anyone.
The Report Card Is a Tool, Not a Verdict
A CBE report card is not a judgment on your child or on you as a parent. It is a snapshot of where your child is right now relative to the expected standard. Every AE is a specific problem with a specific solution. Every BE is an urgent signal that needs a response this term, not next year. Use the information it gives you and your child will move forward. Ignore it and the gap widens. The choice is made every time a report card arrives.