BECE Results Grading System: How to Calculate Your Aggregates

Do you want to know how your Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results are compiled?

How WAEC grades you and what your requirements are to get into a good school?

This article will take you through the scope of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) grading systems, the procedure used in calculating your results, and how you get placed into schools.

The BECE is written every year in June to usher qualified junior high school student into second cycle schools.

They write nine subjects within a week, their results are released within 45 days or more after the exams. Should their results meet the requirement of WAEC, they will be placed in schools according to their categories.

How the BECE exams are marked

First, your exams are marked using marking schemes provided by WAEC. The correct answers are counted and divided by the number of questions asked.

The quotient should be in a decimal point or fraction which will be multiplied by 100% to get a percentage.

Your result is then entered on a grading table using the stanine method or the flexible 9-scale criterion reference grading system to match your raw score.The corresponding grade will then be known once its rightful place has been identified.

The BECE Marks and Grading System

The following are how the examination council grade your results.

• 100-90 is graded 1, or grade AA+ and is the Highest in the grading system. Get nine of these and your category A school will be at your doorstep.
• 89-80 is graded as 2, thus if you get between 89 to 80 percent, you have a grade B. also described as a Higher grade
• 79-70 is grade 3. A B+ High grade.
• 69-60 percent is graded 4. A grade B denoted as High Average
• 59-55 percent is graded 5, a grade C+, which is an Average
• 54-50 is graded 6. Grade C which is described as Low Average
• 49-40 percent is a 7 grade D+, a low score
• 39-35 percent is 8 and a grade E. a Lower
• The Lowest in the grading system are marked that fall between 0-34 percent. A 9 and F grade

How do you calculate your BECE aggregate results?

The above is how your marks are graded. How then do you calculate your aggregates? The examination council requires 6 best subjects from your results.

Thus, three core and 3 electives. The core subjects are mathematics, English, science, and social studies. Math and science are a must, you can then choose between English and social studies.

You can then select your three best electives.

Let us look at this result from candidate A below

• ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2 HIGHER
• SOCIAL STUDIES 1 HIGHEST
• REL. & MORAL EDU 1 HIGHEST
• MATHEMATICS 4 HIGH AVERAGE
• INTEGRATED SCIENCE 2 HIGHER
• INFO. & COMM. TECH. 1 HIGHEST
• FRENCH 2 HIGHER
• B.D.T 3 HIGH

Candidate A can now calculate her results by taking three core subjects, mathematics, science, and social studies, which sums up to 7, and three other electives which are I.C.T, R.M.E, and French, which also sums up to 4.

Candidate A ended up with aggregate 11, which is good enough to take her to a category A school of her choice.

School Placement

The education service uses the computerized school selection and placement system to place students in schools.

This system uses your aggregate and the course you want to do places you into your schools. You are to choose 4 schools and get placed in one of them. The senior high school courses include General Arts, visual arts, science, business, and home economics.

The subjects you are good at should be what you pursue in Shs. Do not go in for science in Shs if you integrated science and mathematics were bad in Junior High.

Choose your schools wisely, some schools are known for specifically being good at particular courses. Do you wish to do visual arts? Technical schools are a good choice for that.Do research about schools and their specialties.

Remarking

Should your result come and you feel cheated, you can request remarking. People make mistakes and there are glitches in computers so you can request for remark. Before you do that though, have enough confidence in what you wrote in the exams

Conclusion

Study harder and come out with good scores. ‘Examination favors the fool’ is just a saying. If you refuse to study, you will fail your exams. You will not end up in a good school and in the long run, probably fail your WASSCE as well. Talk to your teachers, let them know if you are having difficulties with particular subjects.

Nowadays the government has said to accept students with bad grades into senior high schools, but it’s important to study hard for the school you deserve.

Talk to your teachers or go to www.waec.com.gh for more information.