Last reviewed: 25 October 2026
Schools had until 23 October 2026 to upload this year’s school-based assessment (SBA) scores to KNEC. With that deadline now past, many parents are searching for an “SBA parent portal” to see their child’s results. There is one, but it does less than most people expect. This guide shows what you can check, how to do it on a phone and what to do if something looks wrong.
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A Quick Reminder: Why SBA Scores Matter
SBA is the set of KNEC-issued tests and tasks that teachers give and mark in school. For the 2026 round, KNEC’s memo said tools for Grades 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 would be on the portal from 28 September, with scores due by 23 October, as Pulse Kenya reported from the KNEC circular. Scores from Grades 4 to 6 make up most of the KPSEA result, and Grade 7 and 8 scores count towards senior school placement. Our full SBA explainer covers the weights in detail.
What the CBA Portal Shows Parents
The Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) portal at cba.knec.ac.ke is mainly a tool for schools: they register learners, download tools and upload scores there. Parents get a separate “View Learner Details” option on the login page. According to KNEC’s CBA portal user guide, summarised by Education News Hub, a parent who enters the right grade and assessment number sees:
- The assessment number, learner’s name and gender
- The school code and school name
- Current grade and pathway (age-based or stage-based)
- Status of SBA outcomes: how many learning areas have a score, out of the number expected
That last line is the important one. The portal tells you whether scores exist, for example “9 of 9” learning areas, not what the scores are. It is a completeness check, not a report card.
Step by Step: Checking on Your Phone
- Open cba.knec.ac.ke in your browser. You can also reach it from the KNEC website through the CBA Portal link.
- Ignore the school username and password boxes. Tap View Learner Details.
- Select your child’s current grade. Choosing the wrong grade is the most common reason the search fails.
- Type the assessment number exactly as the school gave it, then tap Find.
- Check the name, school and the count of learning areas with scores. If you have more than one child in school, change the grade and number to check the next one.
The portal is busy during exam weeks, especially now that KPSEA and KJSEA run from 26 October. If it times out, try early in the morning or late in the evening.
Where to Find the Assessment Number
Every learner registered on the CBA portal has a KNEC assessment number, which the school creates when it registers the child. It does not appear on most school report forms, so ask the class teacher or school office. Write it somewhere safe. The same number follows your child across schools. When a learner transfers, the new school uses it to request the transfer on the portal, and the old school accepts or declines it, the user guide explains. For Grade 9 candidates it is also the number used to check KJSEA results later; see our guide to checking the KJSEA result slip.
Reading the Result: Three Situations
All learning areas have scores
Good. Nothing is needed now. To learn how your child actually did, ask the school for the SBA performance by learning area, or look at the end-of-term report. Many schools record SBA using the CBC performance levels explained in our CBC grading guide.
Some learning areas are missing
Ask the school politely and quickly. Common reasons are that your child was absent on the day a tool was given, a teacher has not finished uploading, or the child is registered for the wrong optional subject, such as a different religious education option. Schools can amend outcomes on the portal, so the earlier you ask, the easier the fix.
Your child is not found, or shows the wrong school
Check the grade and number first. If both are right, the learner may not be registered, or a transfer may not have gone through. Only the school, and through it the Sub-County Director of Education, can correct registration, so raise it with the head teacher in writing.
What Parents Should Not Do
- Do not pay anyone who offers to “upload” or “change” SBA scores. Only schools can enter scores, using their own portal login.
- Do not share your child’s assessment number on public WhatsApp groups. It is personal data.
- Do not treat commercial termly exams as SBA. Only KNEC tools uploaded through the portal count, as our guide for schools on SBA records explains.
If your child is in Grade 6 or Grade 9 this week, the national papers matter more than SBA right now. Use our exam-day checklist and short daily practice on the CBC Challenge quizzes, which are checked by a teacher.