Kampala, Uganda: Victoria University Vice Chancellor Dr Lawrence Muganga has welcomed the planned reform of Uganda’s Advanced Level grading system, describing the proposed changes as an important step towards a more inclusive and competency-based approach to assessing learners.
The reforms, which are expected to take effect in 2028 following the completion of the revised A-Level curriculum, will change how candidates’ performance is reported and assessed.
While letter grades are expected to remain, the proposed system will attach descriptors to each grade to provide a clearer explanation of what a learner knows, understands and is capable of doing.
Under the proposed structure, the grading scale will run from A to E, replacing the current system in which O represents a subsidiary pass and F represents failure.
The new descriptors are expected to provide additional information about a learner’s actual level of achievement, meaning that a letter grade alone will no longer tell the complete story of a candidate’s performance.
Gilbert Gift Siima, Manager of the Secondary Department at the National Curriculum Development Centre, NCDC, said two learners could receive the same letter grade while demonstrating different levels of competence.
For instance, two candidates could both score an A in Fine Art, but the descriptors accompanying their results could indicate differences in the specific skills and competencies each learner demonstrated.
UNEB and NCDC are still piloting and testing different components of the proposed system, with the final method for determining grades yet to be concluded.
Continuous Assessment to Carry 20 Percent
Another major shift will be the increased contribution of school-based continuous assessment to a learner’s final result.
Under the proposed model, continuous assessment will contribute 20 percent of the final result, while the national examination will account for the remaining 80 percent.
The approach is intended to recognise a learner’s performance throughout the course of study rather than relying almost entirely on a final examination.
However, UNEB and NCDC are still developing the procedures that will determine how the school-based and national assessment components are combined.
The points system is also expected to change;- Under the current A-Level arrangement, an A in a principal subject carries six points, with the points decreasing through the other grades to E, which carries two points.
The proposed scale would reduce the value of an A to five points, followed by B, C and D, with E carrying one point.
The maximum score is expected to be 20 points, including the contribution of subsidiary subjects and the different assessment components.
Subsidiary Subjects Under Review
The reforms will also affect the treatment of subsidiary subjects, including General Paper and either Subsidiary Mathematics or ICT.
Currently, A-Level candidates take three principal subjects alongside subsidiary subjects, which are assessed using a separate grading structure.
Under the existing arrangement, principal subjects are graded from A to E as passes, while O is treated as a subsidiary pass and F as a fail. Subsidiary subjects can contribute points through distinctions and credits, while lower passes and failures do not attract points.
The new approach is expected to align the assessment of subsidiary subjects more closely with the competence-based curriculum, although the final arrangements are still under development.
Candidates currently studying under the existing A-Level curriculum are expected to continue under the present assessment system until the transition is completed.
The new grading approach will be refined through piloting and testing before being rolled out to the first cohort that completes the aligned A-Level curriculum.
Muganga welcomed the planned changes, saying Uganda’s education system should recognise the potential of every learner and avoid defining young people solely by examination outcomes.
“I thank the Ministry of Education and Sports and UNEB. No child should be left behind. No child should ever carry the word ‘failure’ as a label,” Muganga said.
“Every learner who sits an exam represents someone’s hope, a parent’s prayer, a village’s investment, and a future teacher, nurse, farmer, entrepreneur or leader waiting to be given a chance to shine,” he added.
Muganga said the reforms send a message that learners are more than the grades attached to their examination results.
“That is why this reform moves me so deeply. It reminds our children that they are more than a grade. It tells them that the system sees them, believes in them and gives them another chance to find their path,” he emphasized.
The educationist said he was hopeful that the reforms would contribute to a more learner-centred education system and give young people greater opportunities to demonstrate their abilities. “I am grateful, and I am hopeful. With steps like these, I believe Uganda can one day reach the education promised land.”
The planned reforms mark a significant shift in Uganda’s approach to A-Level assessment, moving towards a system in which examination results are expected to communicate not only a grade, but also a clearer picture of what a learner has achieved.
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