2021 School Placement: Which school are you likely to be placed in?

This all-important write-up on the 2021 School Placement takes a look at the Raw Scores, aggregates, or grades obtained by candidates and the Schools they are likely to be placed in.

What aggregate have you obtained? Do you know the category of schools you are likely to be enrolled in using your aggregate of the core subjects and two other best subjects? Let us delve deeper as we classify grades into four key categories for the projections we intend to make. This year, the likelihood of many students being asked to do the self-placement is very high, given the low grades and seemingly poor performance of the candidates.

2021 School Placement: Which school are you likely to be placed in?

1. 2021 BECE candidates who scored aggregates between grade 6 and Grade 8 are likely to be admitted into their first-choice schools, especially Category A schools.
2. Those who obtained from aggregate 9 to 20 stand the chance of being placed in their second choice schools than their category A choice.
3. For those who scored from aggregate 31 to 31, their C choice schools are more likely to match their grades obtained.
4. 32 to 48 with no grade 8 or 9 in Mathematics or Integrated Science have a chance of being placed in Category C or D schools or being offered the chance to do the self-placement.

Self-placement is not reserved for those who obtain grade 32-48 because, based on the programme you chose, the accommodation choice, the raw score you obtained, and the level of competition in a given school, a candidate with a grade better than aggregate 31 may have to use the self-placement module to choose a school for placement.

BECE graduates whose results were released on 28th February 2022 have complained bitterly about the low grades they obtained. Some even hold the view that their scripts were not marked, or they were marked in a rush, for which reason they are knocking on the door of WAEC for a remark of the scripts.

In the midst of all the complaints, the Ghana Education Service (GES) is expected to release the School placement results of both Public and Private BECE candidates as the first step towards enrolling students in Free SHS and Free TVET schools for the 2022 academic year which starts on 4th April 2022 for SHS1 students.

It is possible for a candidate who obtained Aggregate 15, to select a school like Aburi Girls, General Science, and Boarding, but may not be placed in the school yet another student with aggregate 17, who chose Visual art or General arts option and boarding as accommodation may be placed in that school ahead of the Aggregate 15 student opting for General Science.

Again, it is also possible to have two students choose a Business programme in Aburi Girls, both obtained aggregate 12 and are seeking boarding yet, one will be placed in Aburi and the other placed in his or her second or third choice. The reasons are many, however, one easy way to explain the reason is that students are placed based on their raw scores.  Two students may have an aggregate of 12 yet student “A” may have obtained a total raw score of 420 while the other student “B” may have obtained a raw score of say 405.

In placing these students, all those who chose Aburi Girls as their first choice are arranged in descending order, with the students having the highest or best raw scores at the top of the list. Since each school has a determined slot for each programme, once the school gets filled with the number of students it requires for a programme, the remaining students are moved to the next choice. It is also possible that with the second choice, once the raw scores are arranged from the highest to the lowest, the same student may miss the chance of being placed.

The school placement system is very fair and meritorious as it places students who obtain better raw scores ahead of others irrespective of their total aggregate.

2021 School Placement: Projected BECE Aggregates, Raw score ranges and Likely School Category in which a student will be placed.

[A+ Raw Score] Students who obtained grade 6 thus six ones usually have a minimum raw score of 540 out of 600

[A Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 7 to 10 usually have a minimum raw score of 450 out of 600

[B Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 11-12  usually have a minimum raw score of 400 out of 600

[C Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 11-13  usually have a minimum raw score of 380 out of 600

[D Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 14-20  usually have a minimum raw score of 360 out of 600

[E Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 21-23 usually have a minimum raw score of 300 out of 600

[F Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 24-28  usually have a minimum raw score of 280 out of 600

[G Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 29-30  usually have a minimum raw score of 270 out of 600

[H Raw Score] Students who obtained grades 31-48  usually have a minimum raw score of 240 out of 600

Note that all things held constant:

[A+ Raw Score]students are automatically placed in their first choice category A schools 99% of the time.

C students cannot be placed in category A schools but may be placed in category B schools.

Those in A+ and A raw score ranges have a chance of being placed in Category A,  but those in [B Raw Score] may end up in category B or C schools more often depending on the programme, competition for the programme and school and the accommodation choice.

[D Raw Score] may end up in category C school if there is tough competition for category B choice made.

While these explanations may be confusing, they are also not exhaustive. The information only provides a clear idea of what is likely to happen when the schools are released later in the month.

The lower your raw score the more likely it is that you may not be placed. It is also possible not to be given the chance to do a self-placement.

READ: School Placement update for 2021 BECE graduates | All you need to know

Students who opted for day schools have a greater chance of gaining admission than those who opted for boarding for the same school if the grades or raw scores are the same. If all your school choices were boarding, take note of the above piece of information. We wish you the best of luck as we all wait for the release of the 2021 School placements.

Source: Ghanaeducation.org

Written by Ghana Education News Editorial Staff

The Ghana Education News Editorial Staff is comprised of seasoned education consultants, policy analysts, and verified journalists dedicated to providing accurate, timely, and credible updates on the Ghanaian GES curriculum, WAEC updates, and academic leadership.