Sahel EDU

Competency-based assessment in primary school: the booklet, the levels and talking with parents

In primary school, competencies are assessed: what the child can do, and not only what they have remembered. The report says, for each targeted competency, where the child stands, through a level (acquired, being acquired, not acquired) and a comment. This guide presents what the texts we found provide, how to decide on a level, what the booklet must contain, how to talk to parents about it and how moving from one level to the next is organised.

Assessing a competency is not just marking

The 2018 primary curriculum provides for four types of assessment, in written, oral and practical form, through problem situations. So it is not only what the child can recite that is assessed, but what they can do with a new situation.

The yearly order sets the rhythm: a check at the end of each week in language and mathematics, a monthly assessment of core knowledge, the termly composition across all subjects, and the annual composition, which replaces the third-term one. The pupil’s work is compiled into a portfolio handed to parents from time to time, who endorse it and return it.

Diagnostic assessment: before learning, to know where the child starts from.
Formative assessment: during learning, to correct and encourage.
Summative assessment: at the end of a period, to take stock.
Certifying assessment: at the end of a cycle, to attest what the child has mastered.

The levels of acquisition: A, ECA, NA

Since 2019, the official press has reported three marks: A (acquired), ECA (being acquired) and NA (not acquired). We did not find the corresponding regulatory text: these labels remain to be confirmed. The yearly order sets neither the maximum mark nor the labels of the levels; it only requires, for each targeted competency, the level of development expressed by a mark and by a comment from the teacher.

In schools, one often sees a mark, out of 20 or on the scale of the test, with the code NA, ECA or A, sometimes A+ for an expert level. No official grid that we found says which marks match each code: the school must define it and stick to it. Here are guidelines that the teaching team can adapt.

A: the child succeeds alone, in varied situations, several times.
ECA: the child succeeds in part, with help, or only in a familiar situation.
NA: the child does not succeed yet, even with help; remediation is needed.
A level is decided on several observations, never on a single test.

What the correspondence book or booklet must contain

The yearly order sets the compulsory entries on each page carrying marks. The correspondence book, with its report card section, is completed at the end of the term, endorsed by the head teacher, handed over on the day the holidays begin and returned signed by the parents.

The child’s surname, first names, date of birth and class.
The entry “repeating” or “not repeating”.
For each targeted competency: the level of development in the term, through a mark and a comment from the teacher.
The class teacher’s general comments.
The head teacher’s endorsement and the parents’ signature.
On the end-of-year report card, the decision of the class council.

Talking to parents about competencies

A parent who reads “ECA” with no explanation often sees a failure. Explain the three levels in writing, at the start of the year and at the parents’ meeting, with a concrete example: reading a simple sentence unaided is A; reading hesitantly is ECA; not yet being able to decode is NA.

The competency booklet has neither an average nor a rank: it says what is acquired, not the child’s place in the class. Tell families so, as they readily compare. And turn each ECA or NA into an action: what the school will do, what the family can do at home.

Give families a page explaining the levels, in the language they read best.
Name a precise competency rather than “difficulties in French”.
Attach to each ECA or NA some help: remediation at school, an exercise at home.
Do not compare the child with classmates.
Show progress from one term to the next.

Moving up, repeating a year and remediation

Within a single level (SIL-CP, CE1-CE2, CM1-CM2), promotion is collective; repeating a year is allowed only exceptionally, at the parent’s request, according to a 2006 order cited by an official report. At the end of a level, the decision belongs to the class council, based on the results. We found no pass average for primary school in any MINEDUB text.

The 2026-2027 order makes remediation compulsory: at least one hour a week for each core subject, with a remediation register and an individual follow-up sheet. Competencies not acquired are its raw material.

Collective promotion within a level.
Repeating a year only at the parent’s request, with a record of the request.
Decision of the class council at the end of a level.
Remediation of at least one hour a week for each core subject.

What Sahel EDU offers for the competency booklet

Sahel EDU keeps a competency booklet for nursery and primary school. Its framework supplies the subjects, but not the text of the competencies: the head of school enters the targeted competencies, one per line, for each subject and each sub-cycle. For each child, the teacher chooses NA, ECA or A (A+ is optional and off at the start), enters a mark on the school’s scale and a comment; “not observed” removes the observation. Sahel EDU does not turn the mark into a level: the teacher chooses the level.

The booklet is printed for one child or for the whole class, with the entries required by the order (date of birth, repeating or not). It contains neither an average nor a rank; the share of competencies acquired is shown only to the teacher, who also spots the competencies that few pupils in the class have mastered. Documents issued by schools whose authorisation has been verified carry a QR Code. At the end-of-year council, one step applies collective promotion, and a repeat year is recorded only with the parent’s request. Limits: the official text of the competencies is not in the application, and the exact A, ECA, NA scale remains for the school to confirm.

Frequently asked questions

What do A, ECA and NA mean?

A: acquired; ECA: being acquired; NA: not acquired. These labels were reported by the official press in 2019; we did not find the regulatory text.

How do I move from a mark to a competency level?

We found no official grid: the school defines its own correspondences or, better, decides the level on several observations. Sahel EDU does not turn the mark into a level: the teacher chooses the level.

How is the average calculated in the competency-based approach?

In secondary school, the mark out of 20 remains the rule and the competency is added to it. In primary school, the competency booklet says what is acquired and has no average.

Are primary school pupils ranked?

The texts we read do not require a rank in primary school, and the competency booklet in Sahel EDU has none.

Can I try the competency booklet on my own classes?

Yes. The free trial lasts 30 days, with no commitment. The price is then negotiated with each school and can be read on the Pricing page.

Try Sahel EDU for free

Try Sahel EDU free for 30 days, no commitment. Afterwards, the price is negotiated with your school and confirmed in writing.

Book a private demonstration See pricing How the trial works