External examination preparation in high school: Matters arising

Early this year 2025, the West Af­rican Examination Council (WAEC) released the dates of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for the year 2025.

In a competitive learning envi­ronment like Ghana where high schools especially public senior high schools are evaluated and classified into category A, B etc the school leadership may leave no stone unturned to get their candi­dates prepared for the exams. Usu­ally, the schools adopt mock exams as the final test of their candidates’ readiness for the external exams. Specifically, the mock exams help the learners identify their areas of strength and weakness as well as reflect on the questions to expect. Unfortunately, players within the education industry seem to have turned the meaning of examina­tion into something it is not; chew and pour!

Notwithstanding, some factors may affect effective external exam­inaion preparation thus reducing learners’ chance of success in the BECE and WASSCE.

Syllabus completion

A syllabus is a document that outlines all the topics/courses a teacher must deliver in a class be­fore the end of an academic year. It shows learners how they should prepare for a class (Mansbach, J., 2018). Unfortunately, the syllabus does not get fully covered in some schools due to the schedule of extracurricular activities, teacher and learner absenteeism, lack of instructional clarity, inadequate subject teacher experts, instruc­tional resources etc. This situation leads to teachers ignoring certain topics or rushing through them and deprives learners the opportu­nity to learn topics questions may bet set on. Consequently, as part of the external exams’ prepara­tion learners are forced to attend weekend classes organized by the school which may inconvenience those who may not attend on religious grounds, lack of parental support etc.

Teaching and learning

resources

Undeniably some subjects re­quire practical sessions else learn­ers may find it difficult to grasp the meaning of concepts and theories. Unfortunately, some schools lack facilities for such sessions. Therefore, as part of preparations, they resort to neighboring schools with the facilities. This practice causes delay in the completion of the syllabus and reduces contact hours which is equally important for lesson understanding. Similarly, in recent times, the high prices of some learning materials on the market like textbooks has made it difficult for parents to acquire them for their children. This has led to peers sharing theirs but withdraw for personal use during exams preparation. Consequently, learners without textbooks feel anxious and nervous throughout the preparatory period and may easily lose focus.

Purpose for learning

Ghana’s education system seems to be directed towards simply preparing for exams, passing and forgetting lessons. As such I bet say that majority of learners focus on learning for exams and not for life. As a result, some resort to ‘Apo’ in the Akan dialect, meaning leaked questions just to earn a pass mark. No wonder over the years there have been a proliferation of external exams questions leak­age scandals. Is it true that some schools intentionally buy these questions to help maintain their status symbol as a best school in the district or municipality? In this regard, the school leadership sim­ply prepare the learners for exams. Lifelong learning is virtually absent on their agenda and so learners’ study for school, not for life.

Teacher motivation

Teachers are the pivot for learn­ers preparing for exams and so it is vital to ensure that their motivation levels do not plummet. Unfortu­nately, some teachers get distracted by the unconducive nature of the school’s environment created by poor infrastructure, inadequate/ unavailable teachers and learning resources, uncooperative posture of some school leaders and parents etc. Notwithstanding some of them strive to prepare the learners whilst others leave the learners to prepare on their own accord.

Performance anxiety

Learner engagement and classroom community are keys to improved learning outcomes in schools. When learners are fo­cused, full of energy and motivated to learn, they exhibit confidence, a sense of calm and fortitude to achieve academic laurels and activate the will succeed in life. Unfortunately, the fear of failure and its repercussions may cause intense anxiety in some learners even as they prepare. The anxi­ety has its roots in being deemed unintelligent by peers, teachers and even parents and the fear of the unknown exams’ questions. During exams preparations, teachers and especially parents should encour­age them and create a safe space for them to come home from the exams hall feeling welcomed even if they perceive failure. At least, they tried to be honest enough to not engage in any malpractices. Celebrate them other than belittle their accomplishment.

Attention

We live in a world with social media façade, peer pressure, fear of the unknown etc such that sometimes it is difficult to pay attention to what matters. During exams preparations, some learners do not stay focused, rather they fixate on leaked exams questions believing it may save them from failure. As a result, they do not pay attention to lessons in class but stick with lottery games, social me­dia and even skip lessons the whole of the academic year. Attention may also be a challenge when some learners are experiencing family is­sues at home such as being abused sexually by a close relative.

Class size

The class size cannot be over­looked as learners prepare for the BECE and WASSCE. Anytime teachers prepare learners for the exams, they exert so much energy, especially when the class size is large. Sometimes, they get so exhausted that some of them are unable to commit fully to the learners hindering adequate learner preparation for the examination.

In a research report released in the year 2017, titled ‘’ managing the effects of large class sizes on quality education in Ghana’ the re­searchers cited ‘teachers indicated that students do not pay attention in overcrowded classrooms which leads to poor performance. Again, majority of students preferred a smaller class size with the view that, they are not comfortable in their classrooms as a result of its size. Large class sizes were found to be characterised by noise making, bullying, stealing, quarrels, which becomes stressful for teach­ers to manage.’

Learners’ needs

Last but not least, there are learners who do not have the priv­ilege as some mainstream learners in the urban areas. In the rural areas, you may find learners who are nursing mothers, pregnant or even not allowed by parents to be regular for school. Others do not have access to some instructional materials needed to help them prepare for external exams. In this regard, it is rare for such learn­ers to perform well because the teachers find it extremely difficult to cater to their needs of instruc­tional resources and psychosocial support during the examination preparatory period.

In conclusion, it is noteworthy to mention that external exam­ination may serve as a stepping stone to learners’ future. I wish to appeal to all well-meaning private / public organisations and individu­als to help curb these matters for improved academic achievements. A stitch in time saves nine!

The writer is institution­al assessment practitioner

BY HENRY ATTA NYAME

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