WASSCE case studies
WASSCE · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is the school-leaving examination administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), described on its own site as West Africa's foremost examining board, established by law to determine the examinations required in the public interest in English-speaking West African countries, to conduct those examinations, and to award certificates comparable to those of equivalent examining authorities internationally. The candidate audience is senior secondary school students and private candidates in the Council's member countries - the flags shown on WAEC's site are Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria - who need a certificate for tertiary admission, employment or professional registration. The WASSCE case studies are 5 cases and about 3,503 words.
1Yellowing Maize at the Stream Edge
At a 2-hectare maize field in the derived savanna, six weeks after planting, lower leaves are pale yellow and plants are stunted. The yellowing started at the field edge next to a stream after three days of heavy rain and has moved inward.
735 words, about 4 min2Soft Soap Batch at a Cooperative
A 12-member soap-making cooperative produces 20 kg batches from palm oil. Their standard recipe is 20 kg palm oil, 2.8 kg sodium hydroxide pellets, and 6 L water, mixed at 45 °C for 30 minutes and poured into moulds after 24 hours.
688 words, about 3 min3Fuel Subsidy Removal and Cash Transfers
A West African government spends 3.2 billion dollars a year keeping petrol at 500 per litre when the landed cost is 850. Daily consumption is 40 million litres, and fuel is smuggled to two neighbours where the pump price is above 900.
722 words, about 4 min4Clinic Solar System That Fails at Night
A rural clinic has four 250 W solar panels, a 12 V 200 Ah battery, and a 1 kVA inverter. The daily loads are a vaccine refrigerator drawing 80 W continuously, six 10 W LED lamps for five hours, a 20 W radio for four hours, and phone charging at 60 W for three hours.
702 words, about 4 min5Mock Examination Scores and the Principal's Adjustment
A school enters 180 candidates for WASSCE. In the mock mathematics examination the mean score is 42 and the standard deviation is 11.
656 words, about 3 min