BECE grading system has been thoroughly explained by Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Eduwatch.
Understanding the BECE grading system and why you obtained the grade you have goes beyond the information out there.
According to him the Stanine grading system is used by WAEC.
Below is the full details on the BECE grading system explained by Kofi Asare.
BECE grading system explained
WAEC uses the Stanine Grading System for BECE grading. The Stanine grading system is norm referenced, meaning, the structure of the results is pre-determined.
Under Stanine, the % of candidates who will obtain Grade 1-9 is virtually fixed, so you must justify your inclusion to enter that percentage bracket.
Almost 600,000 candidates wrote the BECE. This is how the Stanine grading system applies:
1. Only the best scoring 4% (24,000) of candidates who sit for a subject paper can get Grade 1.
2. Automatically, the next 7% (42,000) of candidates who sit for a subject paper obtain Grade 2
3. Automatically, the next 12% (72,000) of candidates who sit for a subject paper obtain Grade 3
4. Automatically, the next 17% (102,000) of candidates who sit for a subject paper obtain Grade 4.
5. Automatically, the next 20% (120,000) of candidates who sit for a subject paper obtain get Grade 5.
6. Automatically, the next 17% (102,000) of candidates who sit for a subject paper obtain get Grade 6.
Etc…
7. And the last 4% ( 24,000) will always get Grade
This means, you can have 90% in Math and still be in the second 7% (Grade 2), simply because 4% of candidates had 91-100% in that subject. Again, not more than 4% can have Grade 1.
This same system is applied to the WASCCE for school and private candidates. It should guide candidates and challenge them to work extra hard to get into the best percentages in all subjects. This way, their final results or aggregate will be good and merit them admission into a tertiary institution.
What is the Stanine grading system and how is it applied?
The Stanine grading system is a way of scaling test scores on a nine-point standard scale with a mean of five and a standard deviation of two. It is a norm-referenced grading system, which means that each score is assigned based on how it compares to the scores of other students in the same group.
Stanine scores are calculated by dividing the normal distribution into nine equal intervals, each of which has a width of 0.5 standard deviations. The mean score is assigned to the middle interval, and the remaining eight intervals are assigned scores from 1 to 9, with the highest scores assigned to the most extreme intervals.
The Stanine grading system is used in a variety of settings, including education, psychology, and business. It is often used to report test scores in a way that is easy to understand and interpret. For example, a Stanine score of 9 indicates that a student performed in the top 4% of their class on a test. A Stanine score of 1 indicates that a student performed in the bottom 4% of their class on a test.
Here is an example of a table showing the Stanine grading system:
| Stanine Score | Percentile Range |
|---|---|
| 9 | 96-100 |
| 8 | 84-95 |
| 7 | 73-83 |
| 6 | 62-72 |
| 5 | 50-61 |
| 4 | 39-49 |
| 3 | 28-38 |
| 2 | 17-27 |
| 1 | 0-16 |
How the Stanine grading system is applied
The Stanine grading system can be applied to any type of test score, including standardized test scores, teacher-made test scores, and performance assessment scores. To calculate a Stanine score, the test scores must first be normalized. This can be done by converting the scores to a z-score or by using a percentile table.
Once the test scores have been normalized, the following steps can be used to calculate a Stanine score:
- Find the normalized test score.
- Find the corresponding Stanine score in the Stanine grading table.
For example, if a student scored a 75 on a test, their normalized test score would be 1.0. This is because a score of 75 is one standard deviation above the mean score of 50. The corresponding Stanine score for a normalized test score of 1.0 is 7. This means that the student performed in the 73-83rd percentile on the test.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Stanine grading system
One of the main advantages of the Stanine grading system is that it is easy to understand and interpret. The nine-point scale is familiar to most people, and the percentile ranges provide additional information about how a student’s performance compares to the performance of other students.
Another advantage of the Stanine grading system is that it is a norm-referenced grading system. This means that a student’s grade is based on how their performance compares to the performance of other students in the same group. This can be helpful for identifying students who are struggling or excelling relative to their peers.
However, there are also some disadvantages to the Stanine grading system. One disadvantage is that it can be difficult to accurately compare Stanine scores from different tests. This is because different tests may have different difficulty levels and distributions of scores.
Another disadvantage of the Stanine grading system is that it can be difficult to interpret Stanine scores for small groups of students. This is because the percentile ranges for Stanine scores are based on large populations of students.
READ: 2023 BECE Results and School Placement Lies You Must Never Believe
Overall, the Stanine grading system is a useful tool for reporting test scores in a way that is easy to understand and interpret. However, it is important to be aware of the limitations of the system when interpreting Stanine scores.