According to Mr. Dale Gbotoe, Head of the Monrovia Office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the 2021 results have shown a better performance of Liberian students than the previous year.
He said recently that the National Examinations were developed and administered to candidates in Liberia who were in the 3rd, 6th, and 9th grades, indicating that the Liberia Primary School Certificate Examination (LPSCE) and the Liberia Junior High School Certificate Examination (LJHSCE) have been conducted in Liberia over the years. But he noted that the maiden edition of the Liberia National Assessment Test (LNAT) was conducted in 2021 and that it is anticipated that all schools will take advantage of this assessment in 2022.
“The Council’s International Examination, The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is available for candidates in the terminal class of senior high schools in all five English Speaking West African countries,” Mr. Gbotoe said.
“Unlike the national examinations, WASSCE is a common test that candidates write at the same time in the five countries for subjects that are available in those countries,” Mr. Gbotoe said.
For LNAT administered for Grade 3, the WAEC-Liberia Head of Office said the exams were administered on 17 September, on the campuses of all schools that entered for the examination in 13 of Liberia’s 15 counties.
He stated that the candidates were assessed in two subjects: Numeracy or Mathematics and Literacy or Language Arts, indicating that of the total of 7,240 3rd Grade candidates that registered for the exams, 4,971 sat for the tests and 4,118 constituting 82.84% passed, while 853 candidates constituting 17.16% failed.
Mr. Gbotoe pointed out that the overall performance of the 3rd Grade candidates on the National Assessment Test was very good and that the females performed slightly better than their male counterparts on the LNAT, for 2021.
Head of WAEC, Dale Gbotoe
For the Liberia Primary School Certificate Examination (LPSCE) administered to 6th Graders, Mr. Gbotoe stated that the examination was administered at 329 centers on 21 and 22 September, in all 15 counties, in four core subjects: Mathematics, General Science, Language Arts and Social Studies.
The total number of candidates that registered for the LPSCE was 36,229, with 28,842 sitting for the tests, said the Head of WAEC’s Monrovia Office, Gbotoe, who noted that out of the total number of candidates that sat for the exam, 26,842 translating into 93.56% successfully passed, while 1,847 constituting 6.44% failed.
He intoned that the overall performance of the candidates on the 6th Graders’ examination was excellent and that the females performed slightly better than their male counterparts on the LPSCE, for 2021.
He added that for the Liberia Junior High School Certificate Examination (LJHSCE), it was administered on 24 and 27 September, at 345 centers in all 15 counties, with 36,103 of the 40,744 registered candidates sitting, and 33,630 or 93.15% making a pass, while 2,473 constituting 6.85% failed.
The overall performance of the candidates for the LJHSCE, according to Mr. Gbotoe, was excellent, with the Monrovia Office Head noting that female candidates performed slightly better than their male counterparts on the LJHSCE, for 2021.
Winding down the release of the results, Mr. Gbotoe stated that for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), it was administered from 10 – 30 September at 322 centers in Liberia’s 15 political sub-divisions, indicating that the overall performance of the candidates in WASSCE for 2021, at the passing rate of at least a subject on the examination is encouraging, as compared to their counterparts who sat the same examination nationally for the first time in 2018.
He said nine subjects were offered on the examination with Arts Students sitting for seven of the nine subjects while the Science Students sat for a minimum of eight of the nine subjects.
Regarding performance per subject, Mr. Gbotoe lauded the candidates.