The West African Examinations Council has revealed to the general public how it plans to mark and grade the 2023 BECE.
In a press statement sighted by ghanaeducation.org, WAEC revealed 11 key steps they follow during the marking and grading of BECE scripts.
They include;
1. WAEC follows a standardised procedure in the development, finalisation and application of marking schemes used in the marking of scripts for the BECE.
2. Only one draft marking scheme is developed for each subject.
3. The draft marking schemes (one for each subject) are finalised at National Preliminary Coordination Meetings which are attended by Chief Examiners and Zonal Team Leaders for each of the BECE subjects.
4. The final marking schemes (one for each subject) are used to mark dummy scripts of candidates to ensure consistency in the award of marks.
5. Zonal Coordination Meetings for Chief Examiners, Zonal Team Leaders and Team Leaders are thereafter held at all marking venues throughout the country to once again, mark dummy scripts and ensure consistency in the award of marks.
6. Main Coordination Meetings are finally held for Chief Examiners, Zonal Team Leaders and Assistant Examiners at all marking venues used for the marking of BECE scripts. The marking schemes which were finalised earlier are the marking schemes that are used.
7. At the end of the Coordination Meetings, all the examiners use the final marking scheme for each subject to mark the scripts of all candidates.
8. Neither names of schools nor school status (private/public) are indicated on the envelopes containing the scripts of candidates.
9. Scripts are swapped across the sixteen regions of the country to ensure that examiners in the various regions do not mark scripts of candidates for their respective regions.
10. The Stanine Grading System is used to grade candidates who sat for the BECE.
11. Unlike teacher-made assessments, there are no fixed grade boundaries for the BECE. The grade boundaries for each subject vary from year to year depending on the performance of candidates.
WAEC made this information known to the general public after some recent allegations against WAEC. According to some individuals, WAEC has set two marking schemes for this year’s BECE, where candidates in public schools would be favoured, and those in the private schools will be disadvantaged. WAEC has made it clear that such information is false and the public should disregard such claims.