What is the 2024 BECE Cut-Off Point for Free SHS?

In this latest Ghana Education News publication with a focus on BECE, we take a critical look at the 2024 BECE cut-off point, which seems hidden from candidates.

At the Junior High School level, the BECE cut-off point refers to the grade or raw score level where a student is deemed to have either failed or passed the exam. The cut-off point could be at the subject and the exam. Often, much is said about the cut-off point at the end of the exam in terms of the final aggregate and raw score; however, there are cut-off points for the subject level as well.

The Junior High School Leaving Examination (the BECE) has led everyone, including parents and candidates, to believe that, there are no longer cut-off points. This belief became more entrenched in the minds of parents and students with the introduction of free SHS in 2017.

Therefore, the computerized school placement system, also known as the CSSP, will place every student who takes the examination in a school during the school placement phase.

With the introduction of the Free Senior High School in 2017, the enrolment of BECE graduates into senior high schools increased due to the policy; however, the policy did not entirely wipe away the cut-off point for BECE graduates’ placements.

Instead, it broadened the range of grades used to determine student placement, thereby providing placement opportunities to a significant number of students who would not have otherwise qualified.

However, the Free SHS also introduced a single, secret cut-off point that was, in some ways, hidden from candidates and parents.

Before the 2017 BECE, the government would place candidates with an aggregate of up to 25 in attractive schools, while those with an aggregate of up to 30 were considered eligible for placement but got placed in less attractive schools. Today, even candidates with an aggregate score of 48 can be placed in or permitted to use the self-placement module if they do not obtain a grade 9 in mathematics or English.

What is the 2024 BECE Aggregate Cut-Off Point for Free SHS?

The 2024 BECE Aggregate Cut-Off Point refers to the aggregate beyound which it becomes extremely difficult for a BECE candidates to be placed in a good school.

What are the 2024 BECE cut-off points hidden from candidates?

Automatic placement and self-placement have introduced hidden cut-off points.

Not all BECE graduates receive automatic placement in the Senior High School at the various schools they choose. In 2023, BECE candidates were required to select up to 11 schools instead of just 6, yet over 150,000 candidates did not receive automatic placement. The concepts of automatic and self-placement conceal the BECE cut-off point.

While automatic self-placement cuts off and does not place some students, self-placement also cuts off and does not place others.

The raw score system is also another layer of cut-off points.

The raw scores would serve as the second hidden cutoff point for 2024 BECE candidates. If you do not make a certain raw score for a school you choose, you will not be placed in that school. This is another way the free SHS cut-off point works.

Candidates are placed based on their raw scores for each chosen school and programme.

Students with higher raw scores are placed, and those with less competitive raw scores are not placed at all. In some instances, they are asked to do self-placement. In the self-placement module.

There is no placement for students in grade 9 in either mathematics or English, which is a hidden cut-off point.

Candidates of the 2024 BECE who, for some reason, fail or obtain grade 9 in either Mathematics or English Language will not be placed at all in any school, even if they obtain grade 1 in the remaining 8 subjects. This, in and of itself, is another hidden BECE cut-off point.

What is the BECE Placement Aggregate Range?

Below is the BECE aggregate range for placement. Often, students who obtain between 6-ones and grade 10 are placed in their first choice. Those with grades between 11 and 19 end up with their second choice. For grades ranging between 20 and 29, the student will be placed in either the 3rd or 4th choice. If a student is placed in the 5th choice school, his or her aggregate is often between 30-35, and those required to use the self-placement find often have an aggregate of 35 or above.

However, it is also possible to obtain an aggregate between 6 and 10 and be placed in your second choice since other factors determine the final placement. In the same way, it is possible to obtain an aggregate between 11 and 19 and be required to do self-placement.

The table below provides simplified information on the 2024 BECE Cut-Off Point

Make a choice: study diligently and succeed, or fail and face the consequences.

Parents may experience stress and anxiety if their children don’t work hard in school and earn poor grades in the 2024 BECE.

To avoid the above, it is prudent for learners to understand that, while the release of the 2024 BECE results and school placement data will increase their chances of placement in a secondary school, their performance in the BECE will determine the schools they end up in.

READ:

• 2024 BECE Timetable for Private Candidates Out
• 2024 BECE and WASSCE Revised Examination Rules To Be Careful About
• Download 2024 BECE Sample Questions From GES and MoE

Bad grades attract “bad” schools, just as good results put you in very good and prestigious schools. If you don’t prioritize your studies, you might find yourself in a less esteemed school, or perhaps not placed at all.

Therefore, we strongly encourage candidates to approach all subjects with greater seriousness. Ensure you excel in the core subjects and address your fear of mathematics and integrated science. Despite these subjects being relatively easy to pass with dedication and seriousness, many students receive poor grades in them during the BECE. This results in an increase in their overall six subjects, a decrease in their raw scores, and consequent placement in less desirable schools. All these are effects of the BECE cut-off point, and 2024 candidates and parents must take note of them to avoid them.

READ: Private schools to boycott BECE over WAEC’s high exam fees: Prof. Damasus Tuurosong 

With the WAEC-administered BECE scheduled to be written from July 8th to July 12th, 2024, candidates are advised not to forget that there is always a hidden cut-off point for the BECE, and in 2024, these cut-off points will play a critical role in determining their faith in terms of school placement.

From the write-up you have just read about the 2024 BECE Cut-Off Point, you agree that the cut-off point is real and varied. As a student, work hard to avoid these cut-off points. If you are a teacher, let your candidates be aware, and as a parent, educate your candidates on these and challenge them to do their best to avoid all the cut-off points and their associated impediments.

Share this post will all students.

Source: Ghanaeducationnews.org