WAEC Marking Scheme for Biology (2024)
A common question among candidates is how does WAEC mark their papers? Knowing how WAEC mark their papers is very important as it gives you a clue as to how to answer the questions.
In this article, we’ll show you how the West African Examination Council (WAEC) biology paper is being marked. That’s not all, we’ll show you the different sections of the exams and what it entails.
Contents
WAEC Biology Marking Scheme
The WAEC Biology exams comprise of three sections – Papers 1, 2 and 3 all of which must be taken. Papers 1 and 2 will be combined in a composite paper to be taken at one sitting while paper 3 is taken separately.
PAPER 1: Will consist of fifty multiple-choice objective questions drawn from Section A of the syllabus. Candidates will be required to answer all the questions within 1 hour for 50 marks.
PAPER 2: Will be a 1-hour 40 minutes essay paper covering the entire syllabus and carrying a maximum of 70 marks. The paper will be in three sections: Sections A, B and C. Candidates are expected to answer three questions in all.
Section A: Will consist of four questions drawn from the common portion of the syllabus (i.e. Section A of the syllabus). Candidates will be required to answer two questions from this section.
Section B: Will consist of one questions only for candidates in Ghana. This is a compulsory section for candidates in Ghana.
Section C: Will consist of one questions only for candidates in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Liberia.
PAPER 3: This shall be a 2-hour practical test for school candidates or 1 hour 30 minutes alternative to practical work test for private candidates. Each version of the paper shall contain three compulsory questions and carry 50 marks.
How is WAEC Graded?
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) is graded based on percentage. Under the new WAEC grading system, the letters A to F are used to indicate how good a result it.
- A1 = Excellent = 75% – 100% score
- B2 = Very good =70% – 74% score
- B3 = Good =65%- 69%
- C4 =Credit =60% – 64%
- C5 =Credit =55% – 59%
- C6 =Credit =50% – 54%
- D7 =Pass =45% – 49%
- E8 =Pass =40% – 45%
- F9 =Failure =0% – 44%
Explanations:
To score an A1 in Biology, you need to have a minimum score of 75% in the Exam. This means you need to score at least 75 per cent across all the three parts of the examination.
The greater your score the higher your grade. This explains how you are being graded in the Biology Exams.
RECOMMENDED: How to Pass WAEC Exams at One Sitting.
How Percentage Is Calculated
To determine the grade and percentage of candidates, all the scores across the three sections are added together. The sum is divided by the total score and multiplied by 100%.
Total Score Gotten       x   100
Total Score Available         1
Example: Assuming the total available score is 170 and I was able to score 40 in part 1, 50 in part 2 and 30 in part 3. That will sum up to 120. To calculate the percentage score?
(120÷170) x 100% = 71% = B2
NOTE:Â This is just an assumption score.
I believe this serves its purpose of understanding how WAEC Biology is being marked and graded.
Thank you very much.
Very good