An analysis of the recently-released 2016 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) has found that large candidate classes no longer guarantee a school better performance, more so, under the new Uneb grading system, which predetermines pass marks.
At primary and ordinary levels, which haven’t switched to the new grading system, most schools with big candidate classes continue to lead the pack of better performers.
Under the new system, grades are based on predetermined scores. For instance, before the marking starts, Uneb can say that for subject X, only students with 75 per cent and above can get distinction one. If no one attains that mark, no one gets a D1.
Previously, examiners would first mark and depending on the students’ performance, they would set the grade. If overall students performed poorly, the D1 threshold could be lowered to 60 per cent.
Some 102,858Â candidates sat the 2016 UACE exams at 2,076 centres. Today, The Observer gives a detailed account of how each schools in the country performed, showing how many students got the maximum 20 points, down to the number that got zero points.
Today’s statistics exclude results of 64 candidates that were withheld over suspected cheating. Of the 1,882 schools on the table today, only 69 had candidates scoring the maximum 20 points.
These star candidates got A in each of their three principal subjects, and credit 6 or better in each of their subsidiary subjects.
BIG CLASSES, FEW PASSES
We have found that most schools with big candidate classes got few candidates scoring maximum points. And, for the small classes, the picture is grim.
This might have been brought on by the new Uneb grading system that was introduced in 2015. In the past, schools with large candidate classes maintained a steady stream of students with maximum points (20). But last year’s (2016) results proved otherwise.
For instance, while St Mary’s SS Kitende tops our table with the highest number of candidates with 20 points at seven, it relatively had a big class size of 494 candidates. Most of its candidates (79) obtained 16 points.
However, Kitende had at least 39 candidates with 19 points. Other schools have between one and nine candidates. In the same league, Mengo Senior School had 495 candidates and two obtained 20 points. Their highest number of 51 candidates managed nine points and another 51 scored 12 points.
Schools such as Jinja Progressive SS with 413 candidates, Jinja SS (389), Kajjansi Progressive SS (352) and St Mark’s College, Namagoma (328), each got one candidate scoring 20 points.
At Masaka Secondary School out of, 401 candidates, the best three obtained 19 points while most students (42) got seven points. The performance further declines at its annex centre with 332 candidates and the best three still, scored 15 points.
Out of the 499 candidates at Mbale SS, another school with usually big classes, only one candidate got 18 points, leaving a bigger range of 71 students with six points. The annex centre with 289 had the best three students with 14 points.
The pinch is again felt at Lubiri SS where most candidates scored 11 points out of a class of 499 candidates. The best candidate had 19 points.
With the new grading system, some schools, however, such as Uganda Martyrs SS Namugongo managed to perform well. It registered 323 candidates and five obtained 20 points, nine (19), 30 (18), 39 (17) and 40 students got 16 points.
NEW ENTRANTS
According to statistics, schools such as Madinah Islamic Secondary School Nsangi, Sseke Secondary School, Lwengo and St Elizabeth Secondary School Nkoowe in Wakiso district upped their performance. Not usually among the top performers, with only 64 candidates, Madinah Islamic had two students obtaining maximum points while the rest had one each.
Although the school had one candidate with 19 points, 18 points (4) and 17 points (3), most of its candidates obtained 14 points.
While releasing the 2016 UACE results, the Uneb executive secretary, Dan Odongo, said the examination questions tested the candidates’ ability to handle higher order tasks such as description, explanation, analysis, discussion and evaluation.
Note: The table we published in the newspaper shows how schools performed from 20 points to Zero. However, the numbers appearing on the side (1 to 1882) do not represent a school’s position in the UACE results but rather meant to enable our readers easily trace their schools.
