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Rev. Victor Brew, head of the Legal Department at the West African Examinations Council, clarified the grading system for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
His view is that the grades of students at different schools are determined by their performance.
As WAEC is a nationwide competition, even the most talented students in their schools may not meet the first 4% range targeted by the grading system.
There are two things at play, the grading system and their candidates’ performance, because, for example, if you keep getting 80s as a local champion, you’ll know that if someone else keeps getting 99s, you’ll have to pray your 80 falls within the 4%; otherwise, you’ll receive a grade 2, and it doesn’t mean you’re not capable. He explained that while you are good, others are better.
For grading variations, Rev. Brew urged school managers to avoid comparing cohorts of their institutions, as the “Norm-Referenced Grading System” used by WAEC varies yearly.
Rev. Victor Brew further revealed that the implementation of the grading system was done in collaboration with the government. This makes grade 9 the lowest, and not a failure in the BECE system.
His explanation of how the grading system works reads, “If the first 4% are getting grade 1, this means that a person who took mathematics, unlike English, can get 100% in mathematics.” So, what happens is that your candidate or the champion of your school in math gets 80% during your mock trials, or 89%. But when you join forces with candidates across the country, the question is whether your champion in math in your school can beat all the champions across the country. This is such that your champion falls within the first 4%.”
Thus, WAEC cannot be blamed for candidates’ failure. As a result, a particular batch may not fall within the national grading system.
In the meantime, he believes a coalition of the number of candidates achieving a grade in each subject across the country within a year will aid in improving the curriculum.
According to him, some candidates’ exams have been canceled based on the rules and regulations in place before and during the exams for each year group.
Parents whose children’s papers were cancelled have also been notified that they are allowed to appeal for their children’s papers to be remarked.
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Omanghana.com/SP
