Grade 5 is the middle year of Upper Primary. Your child keeps the same eight learning areas as in Grade 4, but the content in each curriculum design goes deeper. Expect longer compositions, multi-step Mathematics problems and more practical work in Science & Technology and Agriculture & Nutrition. Grade 5 is often a quiet year for parents, but its assessment counts. This guide explains why, and is accurate as of October 2026.
Learning Areas in Upper Primary
Grades 4, 5 and 6 make up Upper Primary. After the 2023–24 rationalisation of CBC, the Ministry of Education cut Upper Primary from ten learning areas to eight, and from 40 to 35 lessons a week, including the Pastoral/Religious Programme of Instruction (summary of the MoE circular of 20 December 2023). The eight are:
- English
- Kiswahili (or Kenya Sign Language for deaf learners)
- Mathematics
- Religious Education (CRE, IRE or HRE)
- Science & Technology
- Agriculture & Nutrition (Agriculture merged with parts of Home Science)
- Social Studies
- Creative Arts (Art & Craft, Music and Physical Education combined)
Indigenous and foreign languages are now co-curricular rather than examined learning areas. KICD publishes the curriculum design for each learning area and grade. The designs set out strands, sub-strands, suggested learning experiences and assessment rubrics, and teachers plan from them.
Assessment in Grade 5
Grade 5 learners do KNEC school-based assessment (SBA) tasks in school. Together with Grades 4 and 6, SBA makes up 60% of the KPSEA result, and KPSEA in turn carries 20% into senior school placement after Grade 9. In 2026 the Grade 4 and 5 SBA window ran from 28 September to 23 October (details). Teachers also use classroom assessment throughout the year to report your child’s performance level in each learning area.
How to Help in Grade 5
- Build study habits now. A fixed homework time and a quiet corner are worth more than tuition at this stage.
- Ask about the report card. If a learning area shows “Approaching Expectation”, ask the teacher which strand is weak and what you can practise at home.
- Talk about the news and the community. Social Studies and Religious Education ask learners to apply ideas to real life. Discussion at home builds that skill.
- Keep projects simple. Use locally available materials where the teacher allows. Projects are assessed on the child’s process and understanding, not on expensive finishes.
Previous: Grade 4. Next: Grade 6 and KPSEA. Overview: all grades.