7 Reasons Why Students Fail WASSCE and BECE Each Year

Students in SHS3 and JHS 3 will write the WASSCE 2025 and BECE 2025 examination; 7 reasons why students fail WASSCE and BECE Each Year have been discussed in this article and  8 rules to help students avoid exam failure have also been shared.  Failing and passing the WASSCE or BECE examination depends on many factors, including those shared here. 

Our research and experience show that there are 7 common reasons why students fail these examinations.

As we share these findings with you, some students are preparing to re-sit these examinations as private candidates because of the mistakes they made.

Whether you are going to write the WASSCE and BECE in as a school or private candidate, take the suggestions we will provide seriously and work hard to avoid errors that may lead to exam failure.

Passing an examination like WASSCE can be very easy but unfortunately, some students fail because of the errors they make. Those who sit the BECE examination are not free from the same mistakes.

Apart from preparing for the examination, WASSCE and BECE  candidates must take proactive steps to avoid failing the examination.

If you assume that the WASSCE and BECE exams are just any regular examinations, you will be deceiving yourself. Hence focusing on some particular topics and leaving the rest out can be a regretful exercise.

Be punctual as a student and take part in academic activities such as experiments, class exercises, tests, and quizzes.

Rule No. 1: Coverall topics for the examination if you want to increase your chances of passing.

ALSO READ: Examination Passing Strategies and Study Tips For Serious Students

7 Reasons Students Fail WASSCE and BECE

Let us now examine critically 8 reasons why students fail WASSCE and BECE.

Improper Understanding Of The WASSCE

The WAEC examination is entirely different from secondary school exams. If you plan to ace your exams, you must prepare to cover your WAEC syllabus before the exam day because questions can come from anywhere. When you take into consideration how vast the syllabus is, you’ll understand the need to prepare well or start earlier with your curriculum, texts, and past questions as useful guides.

Dependents on Examination Malpractice And Apor

Some students fail WASSCE and BECE because they fail to learn and bang their hopes on examination question leaking syndicates. They pay huge sums of money then get these so-called leaked questions.

Instead of learning and preparing, they concentrate more on these materials. Such students do not believe in studying to make the grades.

Such students are often bound to fail the examination if the said leaked questions never get asked in the examination.

The stress you will go through in the exam hall and the thoughts of failing will make your rate of failing a massive one. Those who sat the WASSCE as Free SHS benefitiaries and the 2024 BECE candidates can give us better testimonies.

Even if you succeed in cheating, WAEC can fish you out, or you may be caught in the act and your paper(s) will be canceled.

Some students contract imposters to write the examination for them. Do not rely on these so-called leaked papers and other illigal means to pass an examination.

At best when someone tells you he or she has access to leaked questions, see them as one of the past questions and do not depend on them for success rather, keep studying and preparing for the examination.

Rule No. 2: Never believe in Apor, learn and prepare. 

 

Procrastination contributes to failure

Sometimes, postponing academic work, learning, and other related activities for less important functions can be fun but hey, be careful you do not sacrifice your academics.

Kill the habit of postponing your studies; keep in mind that, once you get to SHS3 or JHS3 time is never on your side. It flies away so soon and before you know it, it is a few days or weeks to the final examination.

Do not be deceived that since the examination is about three months away, you can keep postponing your preparation to a later date.

Bill Watterson once said “You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.”

When you keep procrastinating, you keep preventing yourself from getting into the reading and studying mood.

Rule No. 3: Stop procrastinating your study, it will hurt your preparation and grades.

You can keep delaying but remember time does not wait for man. You have to make the best out of it.

No Extra Study Materials

Are you not digging your own grave if you do not have the needed study materials or textbooks? Oh No! Not having the required textbooks or additional textbooks for reference purposes limits your scope of knowledge and understanding gained from just one book

The fact is that it is too risky to depend solely on the notes provided by the teacher. Often these notes may be condensed and lack some vital explanations.

Hence have textbooks as additional useful materials. Often students who do not have extra textbooks for preparing for examinations have to borrow books from colleagues to learn. You may not always have access to such books.

Rule No 4: Have Extra Text Books and use them to add to your knowledge. Read, practice, and research. 

Teachers often recommend books that can help students when preparing for examinations for study purposes. Do your best to have these books.

Have Past Questions And Attempt to Solve Them

It is one thing having all the past questions, and it is another thing being committed to learning and solving them.

There are students who do not have them. Others have these materials but do not make good use of them.

Others do not study the topic but go-ahead to answer the questions or master the answers by root. This does not mean you can solve such questions. Students who fail WASSCE or BECE sometimes fail to study the topic fully before attempting to answer such past questions. By memorizing the answers, you may feel you have understood the topic. A similar question but rephrased can make you very challenging in the examination.

Rule No 5 – Practice solving examination questions after studying a topic, don’t memorize answers to past questions, understand how they are solved. 

Past questions assist students to prepare, know the examination question structure and what is expected in the examination.

Cramming can lead to examination failure

If you are good at procrastinating preparation for the examination, you will end up cramming study materials. Cramming is a practice of engaging in an intense study in a short time ahead of the examination and trying to memorize everything.

For instance, a student trying to cover 10 topics in Integrated Science just 48 hours to the examination. The question is how much can you cover? You will only build up stress and probably fail the examination.

Rule No 6: Avoid cramming, start preparing early, and study in bits.

Cramming leads to increased chances of failing because, if you memorize the content and you forget one or few words, you may not be able to recall the rest of the information in the examination. Then failure will be knocking at your door. Such outcomes make you panic in the exam hall. WASSCE and BECE examinations require students to cover a lot of content. You, therefore, need to start studying early.

Cramming may even lead students to select topics and questions and doing what they call “Specialization” thus, focussing on a few areas and mastering them. This is a gamble and if questions in the examination do not come from those topics, the consequences are clear.

Failing To Work on Weak Subjects

Many students have one or more subjects that give them headaches. For many, if it is not Mathematics, it is Science or English Language.

For these students, efforts toward studying the subject seem unrewarding and so, they may give it less attention instead of more.

Some students believe these subjects are difficult and so, they are not committed to learning it. If this should continue, the likelihood of failing the subject at the WASSCE or BECE is high.

There are students who also concentrate too much time and effort on elective subjects and less on core subjects. Such students may end up scoring  “Bs” and “As” in electives and suffer “Fs” and other poor grades in their core subjects such as Mathematics and Integrated Science.

Rule No 7: Give more attention to so-called difficult subjects, love them, do not see them as difficult, and get help from the best students in such subjects in your class; learn the basics and practice, practice and practice.

You can improve on your weak subjects several months before an examination if you dedicate more time and effort to them. Get books that teach the basic concepts and use them to build your foundation.

“Forget the mistake. Remember the lesson.” and “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”

The Fear Of Failing

“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat” by Napoleon Bonaparte is still relevant today for WASSCE and BECE and students preparing for the examination in November.

The fear of failing an examination may be the result of unpreparedness or what we sometimes call “Examination fever” thus some students get seek just because the examination getting nearer.

When fear sets in, it can negatively affect your morale. Fight back the fear, be optimistic and make positive affirmations about yourself. Even hard-working students can fail if they fear.

Do not allow fear to hinder your success. Condition your mind for success and think positively. Do not fear the BECE or WASSCE just because, there was a mass failure or you knew some brilliant students who failed the examination.

Rule No. 8: Remain confident, resist the fear and stay positive-minded. You are good enough to pass the examination.

“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right.”

READ: Overcome fear in the exam hall as a WASSCE or BECE candidate [Video]

In this write-up, we have explained some reasons why some students fail the WASSCE or BECE. We have provided some facts and rules to guide you. Let us do a recap of the rules/ facts.

8 Rules for preparing for Examinations

Rule No. 1: Cover all topics for the examination if you want to increase your chances of passing.

Rule No. 2: Never believe in Apor, learn and prepare.

Rule No. 3: Stop procrastinating your study, it will hurt your preparation and grades.

Rule No 4: Have Extra Text Books and use them to add to your knowledge. Read, practice, and research.

READ: Fear of Examination: Why do some students fear examination?

Fact No 5: Practice solving examination questions after studying a topic, don’t memorize answers to past questions, understand how they are solved.

Rule No 6: Avoid cramming, start preparing early, and study in bits.

Rule No 7: Give more attention to so-called difficult subjects, love them, do not see them as difficult, and get help from the best students in such subjects in your class; learn the basics and practice, practice and practice.

Rule No. 8: Remain confident, resist the fear and stay positive-minded. You are good enough to pass the examination.

READ: How to Study For Exams

You see, following our learning tips and the rules shared in this post can go a long way to help you excel in your examination. We challenge you to put into practice all the learning tips we share. They are all well-tried and tested methods that produce excellent academic results for future study. The power is yours; the choice is in your hands. Now that we know the Reasons Why Students Fail WASSCE and BECE Each Year, let us do our best to avoid failure