BECE mocks TOO HARD than WAEC’s BECE?: Teachers vs. Students vs. Schools Responsible for Poor BECE Performance – Survey

The Education-News Consult has been engaging students, teachers, and parents on whether they think BECE mocks are more difficult than WAEC’s main BECE.

BECE mocks are more difficult than WAEC’s BECE

The numerous conversations students had with us on social media drove the decision to conduct this survey and gather opinions from stakeholders. According to the students, their mocks are more difficult than their main examination. This perception is not new, nor is it wrong. When preparing for an examination, your pre-efforts need to be very good and tough to push you to get the best out of your revisions. However, the final examination may seem easy, all because your teachers and schools pushed you harder so that you could prepare as a candidate for the final examination.

However, if students who have sat for the BECE before and those preparing now believe that the BECE is easier than their mock examinations, why do they not make the best grades in their main examination?

In one of our survey questions, we asked.

Students in our DM think mocks are more difficult than the BECE. As a teacher or parent, do you agree?
Teachers’ and parents’ responses concurred with students’ perceptions that the mock exam was more challenging than the main exam. In all, 71% of our respondents said mocks were more difficult, while the remaining 29% thought otherwise.

If this is the case, why do candidates fail the BECE compared to their mocks? The good grades many students make in their mocks and end-of-term examinations are never reflected in their final BECE results.

There should be something wrong; hence, the Education-News Consult probed further.

READ: 2024 BECE Home Mock Results for January To Be Released Today: Check Summary of Chief Examiner’s Report

Survey Question 2: Why do students underperform in the BECE? What is the major reason?

We sought to find out why students do not perform well in the BECE, even though teachers and students believe that the BECE is easy to pass compared to their mock examinations.

In all, 22% of respondents believed that poor school or teacher support contributed to students failing the BECE, even though it was easy.

Another 38% of the respondents said unprepared students contributed to exam failure, while another 28% felt that even where students were prepared, their poor question-answering skills made them underperform.

Interestingly, 13% of respondents believed other factors accounted for student failure. These could include parental support and a lack of motivation, among other factors.

Schools’ contribution to Student performance at the BECE

From the above, it is clear that three key stakeholders play a greater role in determining the result of the BECE candidate. Schools, teachers, and students themselves are the architects of failure and success, and their efforts and commitment to excellence play a critical role.

READ: How to get 2024 BECE Mock Questions and Answers for your ward

Schools with poor teacher supervision and inadequate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will surely contribute to low teacher morale and effort. The inability of teachers to lead themselves, be proactive, and set class and personal targets for themselves and their students for the examination can make them lose sight of or have no focus on any target for themselves and their students. At best, such teachers may focus on just one or two naturally brilliant students in the class. Such teachers will surely have many of their learners fail.

The efforts of teachers and parents towards students’ performance at the BECE

As a teacher, you must help your students set targets as to what grade they individually want to attain in their BECE and help them work towards it. Teach your students how to answer questions and score the best for each question type. Insist on students applying the tips you share with them to their classwork, homework, etc.

If parents and teachers believe their students fail the BECE or underperform because they were not prepared, the blame must be laid at the doorsteps of teachers and parents. Until these stakeholders play their roles very well and get every student on board, the current efforts will not yield the desired results.

 Student performance at the BECE and their dedication to hard work

Students, as the final determinant of their faith in the examination, cannot be free from a greater portion of the blame for poor performance.

A lot of students do not know how to learn or study. They do not know how to read to understand the text and also pick up or acquire knowledge from the text.

Many more do not practice what they learn. That is to say, they read without writing, and they study without making their notes from what is in the test books.

Students learn the various subjects without attempting to answer questions about what they learn. Many study math without solving questions. Self-doubt and inadequate or late start or preparation all contribute in one way or another.

READ: Latest BECE Chief Examiner’s Report for 2024 BECE Candidates and Teachers: Download

If teachers dedicate time to explaining to their learners how to answer questions, how to explain answers, and how to master and learn the main vocabulary of each topic they study, students will be able to answer questions more accurately. However, discipline on the part of students cannot be sacrificed.

Schools, teachers, and students have a key role to play if they are to make the best grades; however, parents must equally be committed to the education of their wards.