The introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Uganda in 2020 marked a significant shift from traditional, content-heavy approaches to a more skills-oriented framework. However, implementation has faced challenges, most notably, limited capacity to assess learners effectively within this new system.

In response, the Action for Life Skills and Values in Education (ALiVE), through its Assessment Pillar, embarked on developing assessment tasks and scoring rubrics to support stakeholders in implementing the CBC. This work is being done in close collaboration with experts from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), and experienced item writers.

From 15th to 16th May 2025, the ALiVE Uganda team conducted a two-day cognitive laboratory (pilot) testing of the assessment items with learners in Primary Six, Senior One, and Senior Three. The tasks focused on assessing three core life skills: Problem Solving, Creative Thinking, Cooperation.

The pilot employed two assessment approaches;

 - Self-Administration (learners independently completed developed items on papers), and this was effective for Problem Solving and Creative Thinking.

 - Guided/Oral Administration: used for Cooperation, which involves interaction and observation.

The two approaches were followed by a one-on-one session with the learners to get their feedback, feelings and perceptions about the task items done. It was quite an interesting session to listen to learners’ ideas and suggestions.

The pilot aimed to:

 - Evaluate the suitability and clarity of the developed assessment tasks and

 - Determine whether learners can demonstrate the expected performance indicators for each skill.

Following refinement based on the pilot findings, these tasks will undergo a large-scale pilot before being finalised for broader use.

For more information about ALiVE please visit:  

https://uwezouganda.org/publications/reports to access our assessment reports and https://uwezouganda.org/publications/datasets

You can also access previous ALiVE assessment reports https://uwezouganda.org/download/ALiVE%20Regional%20Report.pdf

https://uwezouganda.org/download/ALiVE%20Uganda%202022-Report.pdf