Management of academic programmes in institutions is key to effective realization of college objectives. Principals and trainers are the planners and managers of activities that take place in colleges. The objective of the study was to establish whether guidelines provided in colleges on continuous assessment tests influence trainee academic performance in Bungoma county, Kenya. The study was guided by signaling theory. The theory posits that, one party, the sender, must choose whether and how to communicate (or signal) information, and the other party, the receiver, must choose how to interpret the signal. The theory applied to this study since it describes two parties who were the continuous assessment tests managers and the trainees. The study employed descriptive survey design. The sample size was 130 which consisted of Principals, Deputy Principal, Academic head of Department and selected Trainees obtained through random sampling. The study found out that most colleges were provided with guidelines for tests which significantly influenced trainee’s academic performance while a small percentage stated thar the management of continuous assessment tests influenced academic performance in institutions. The conclusions made from the study were, colleges in the county had come up with their own test guidelines, that the principal plays a key role in the provision of tests in colleges. It is recommended that colleges be given uniform test implementation guidelines