WASSCE Poor Results: Grading system cannot be blamed – Prof Stephen Adei

Former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof Stephen Adei, has defended the grading system in response to the poor results in the recent West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The latest WASSCE results have raised concerns about declining academic performance and the number of students failing to meet the criteria for progression and placement.

Prof Adei emphasized that the grading system cannot be held responsible for the poor performance, as it has remained unchanged over the years. He stated that it is not feasible to attribute the latest poor outcomes solely to the grading system, as it has been implemented consistently in previous years. Prof Adei suggested that the focus should be on examining the placement system or potential deterioration in academic standards, rather than placing blame on the grading system.

He acknowledged that the grading system itself could potentially be simplified, but emphasized that consistency in the grading system makes it challenging to attribute the poor results to the system itself. Prof Adei personally believes that the existing grading approach is overly complex and advocated for a simpler system based on straight marking, similar to the WASSCE.

However, he cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions about a deterioration in academic performance based on a single year's results, as one year's data cannot establish a statistically significant trend.