The possible 2025 BECE grading system WAEC will use is worth knowing for both candidates and teachers. The 2025 BECE draws near and preparations cannot be done without teachers and learners keeping an eye on the grading system to be used by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
With this grading scale, grades will be assigned from 1 to 9 in accordance with the performance you will exhibit in the 2025 BECE. These grades are explained as follows:
Grades 1 – 3: Getting any of these grades will mean you perfectly comprehend the subjects. For example, when you get grade 1 in Maths, it means you perfectly understood the Maths at the BECE level and have an excellent foundation for secondary education Maths.
Grade 4 – 6: These grades also mean that you have a fair comprehension and foundation of the subjects for secondary education Maths.
Grade 7 – 9: Finally, getting a grade within this range means you have a weak understanding of the subjects. For example, when your BECE maths grade is 9, it means you have not perfectly understood the Maths BECE exams. Candidates who unfortunately obtain grade 9 in English and/or Mathematics will not be placed in any school and will not have the chance of self-placement even if they obtain grade 1 in all other subjects.
Explanation of the Stanine Score Used to Grade Students:
As candidates and teachers prepare for this exam, it is important that they keep this information in mind and work hard to score better grades.
The Stanine Score ensures that a certain percentage of all students fall into one of the following categories.
In the BECE, the top 4% candidates will be awarded Grade 1, then the next 7% will get grade 2, etc.
Assuming your Science score is 91% in the BECE, but you are not in the top 4%, you may be placed in Grade 2. Alternatively, if your Science score is 90% and you are part of the top 4% of candidates, you will be given Grade 1.
In principle, the overall total performance of candidates who will sit in the 2025 BECE will influence your Stanine Score.
The 2025 BECE grading system uses a nine-point scale, with Grade 1 being the highest and Grade 9 the lowest. Here’s a breakdown of the grading system:
– Grade 1: Highest (90-100%) – Top 4% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 2: Higher (80-89%) – Next 7% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 3: High (70-79%) – Next 12% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 4: High Average (60-69%) – Next 17% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 5: Average (55-59%) – Next 20% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 6: Low Average (50-54%) – Next 17% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 7: Low (40-49%) – Next 12% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 8: Lower (35-39%) – Next 7% of candidates will secure this grade in each subject.
– Grade 9: Lowest (0-34%) – Lowest 4% of candidates
To pass the BECE, candidates typically need to get an aggregate score of 36 or better from their six best subjects.
The aggregate score is calculated by summing the grades of the core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies) and two other subjects.
The grading system also considers continuous assessment, which accounts for 30% of the final score, while the BECE examination accounts for 70%.

The Ghana Education News Editorial Team is a specialized collective of education researchers, journalists, and policy analysts dedicated to providing high-fidelity reporting on the Ghanaian academic landscape. Serving as a primary bridge between governing bodies—including the Ghana Education Service (GES) and WAEC—and the public, the team leverages over a decade of combined experience to serve students, parents, and educators nationwide.
Lead Architect & Editor-in-Chief
The team is led by Wisdom Kojo Eli Hammond, a distinguished Ghanaian Edu-Tech Entrepreneur, AI Solutions Developer, and Product Architect with over 25 years of cross-disciplinary experience in education, finance, and digital media. Wisdom is the visionary force behind SkulManager, Ghana’s premier school management ecosystem, and the Lead Consultant at Education-News Consult.
A self-taught innovator, professional Web Designer, and regular columnist on GhanaWeb, Wisdom engineered SkulManager.com as the only platform strictly tailored to the GES Curriculum. His technical leadership has redefined educational assessment through a Hybrid Marking Ecosystem, pioneering the BECE and WASSCE Home Mock services—a unique fusion of WAEC-trained human examiners and advanced AI marking engines operational since 2022.
Wisdom’s 360-degree view of institutional challenges is grounded in his tenure as College President and Lecturer at Pinnacle College (Achimota), as well as his background as a school administrator and accountant. He is a dedicated lifelong learner currently advancing his studies at the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), with academic ties to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
An accomplished author, his works include Returnees of the Dead Forest (UK Published), Simplified Beacon of Light (850+ Q&A), and The Leader in Me. A foundational pillar of the award-winning NGO Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), Wisdom is committed to building intelligent systems that solve societal problems and prepare the next generation of Ghanaian students for a digital future.
Contact: 0550360658 | Portals: GhanaEducation.org, GhanaEducationNews.org, SkulManager.com, BECEPrep.com. Educationnewsconsult.com etc
