The BECE - the Basic Education Certificate Examination, sat at the end of junior high school - is graded by WAEC in a way that surprises many parents: a grade says how a candidate did compared with everyone else who sat that subject, not what mark they got.
Grades 1 to 9
Each subject is graded from 1, the best, to 9, the lowest. WAEC uses the stanine (“standard nine”) system: all candidates in a subject are ranked together as one group, and the grades are shared out in fixed proportions.
| Grade | Meaning | Share of candidates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highest | 4% |
| 2 | Higher | 7% |
| 3 | High | 12% |
| 4 | High average | 17% |
| 5 | Average | 20% |
| 6 | Low average | 17% |
| 7 | Low | 12% |
| 8 | Lower | 7% |
| 9 | Lowest | 4% |
So the top 4% in a subject get a 1, whatever their marks, and the bottom 4% get a 9. WAEC says this keeps grades fair from year to year when one year’s paper is harder than another’s. It also means there is no fixed mark for a grade, and the mark tables passed round on social media do not apply.
WAEC marks every candidate’s scripts the same way, swaps them between regions and hides who wrote them; it has said publicly that it does not grade private and public schools differently.
The aggregate
For placement, a candidate’s grades in 6 subjects are added together: the core subjects and the best of the rest. Because 1 is the best grade, the lower the aggregate, the better: all ones gives the best possible aggregate, and most competitive schools fill with candidates close to it.
A weak grade in a core subject counts in full, however good the others are. That is where effort before the exam pays most.
What it decides
The aggregate is the main thing the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) uses to place a candidate in an SHS, with the programme chosen, boarding or day, and the places left. A Category A school’s popular programmes fill with the lowest aggregates; Category B and C schools take more.
— SHS categories and how placement works — Checking BECE and WASSCE results — Free SHS: what it covers
If you think a grade is wrong
WAEC has its own channel for querying results; go through the school, which can raise it with WAEC’s office, rather than relying on what circulates on social media. WAEC’s statement on the grading system is at https://www.adomonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/PRESS-STATEMENT-ON-CONCERNS-ABOUT-BECE-GRADING-SYSTEM.pdf.