The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has flagged several areas of concern in the performance of candidates who sat for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Mr John Kapi, Director of Public Affairs at WAEC, speaking on JoyFM's Super Morning Show on Tuesday, revealed that chief examiners noted a reliance on social media diction and non-standard English in candidates’ answers across all subjects.

In the English Language paper, students reportedly struggled with vocabulary and the proper use of standard English.

In Social Studies, candidates were not able to discuss topics such as government policies and the economic impact of Ghana’s expensive funerals.

Integrated Science scripts revealed difficulties in spelling scientific terms correctly, as well as challenges in drawing and illustrating key scientific concepts.

Mathematics also proved problematic, with candidates failing to handle even simple calculations, contributing to overall poor performance, Mr Kapi noted.

This year’s WASSCE recorded a marked decline, with Core Mathematics suffering the sharpest drop in performance.

A1–C6 passes fell from 305,132 in 2024 to 209,068 in 2025—representing a decline of more than 96,000 passes. With a pass rate of just 48.73%, more than half of the candidates failed to secure the grades required for tertiary education.