WAEC and WASSCE Evaluation: Is WAEC a High School Diploma in the U.S.?

Is WAEC a high school diploma? Strictly speaking, WAEC (the West African Examinations Council) is the exam board, and the credential it issues is the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) certificate. When you bring that WASSCE certificate to the U.S., a credential evaluation is what tells a university, employer or government office whether it is comparable to a U.S. high school diploma. This guide is for anyone who finished secondary school in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia or The Gambia, and for the attorneys and advisers who help them. It explains how WAEC results, older O Level and A Level results, and university degrees from the region are usually evaluated, which documents you need, and how to order an evaluation online. A standard MotaWord evaluation costs $65 and is delivered in 72 hours.

What Is the West African Examinations Council?

The West African Examinations Council was set up in the early 1950s to run common school examinations for the English-speaking countries of West Africa. Today its member countries are Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. WAEC sets the papers, marks the scripts and issues the results, which is why the same exam can be compared across five national school systems. Sierra Leone is one of the five WAEC member countries, so its students sit the same WASSCE. See how Sierra Leone WASSCE results, diplomas and degrees are evaluated.

The council's best known exam is the WASSCE, taken at the end of senior secondary school. Before the WASSCE, many candidates sat the West African School Certificate (often called the O Level) and, in some countries, the GCE Advanced Level. If you finished school before the WASSCE was introduced, your evaluation is based on those older results instead, and evaluators are used to seeing them.

The WASSCE Exam: Structure, Subjects and Candidates

The WASSCE exam covers a set of core subjects, usually English Language, Mathematics, Integrated or General Science and a social studies subject, plus electives in arts, sciences, business or technical fields. Candidates usually sit seven to nine subjects. WAEC offers the exam in two forms:

- WASSCE for School Candidates: students in their final year of senior secondary school, who sit the exam once at the end of the program.

- WASSCE for Private Candidates: people who have already left school and want to improve a grade or add subjects. Results from a private sitting are often combined with school sitting results when you apply to a university.

Because many people sit more than once, it is common to hold two or more WASSCE certificates. Send all of them for your evaluation. Evaluators can only credit subjects that appear on the documents you upload.

The WASSCE Grading System

WASSCE results are reported subject by subject on a nine-point scale:

- A1, B2, B3: excellent to very good.

- C4, C5, C6: credit passes. A credit is usually the minimum grade universities in the region accept for a required subject.

- D7, E8: passes below credit level.

- F9: fail.

Each certificate or statement of result prints its own key, so if WAEC changes how a grade is described in a later year, the evaluator reads the scale shown on your document. A1 in WAEC means the highest grade in that subject; it is not a numeric score.

Is WAEC a High School Diploma? How U.S. Evaluators See the WASSCE

In most cases, evaluators treat a WASSCE certificate that shows passes in English, Mathematics and several other subjects as comparable to completion of high school in the U.S. The WASSCE closes a 12-year program of primary and secondary education in the member countries, in most member countries, which lines up with the U.S. path from first to 12th grade. The final wording depends on the evaluator and on what your documents show: the number of subjects passed, whether English and Mathematics are among them, and whether the school's own records support the exam results.

Some details change the result:

- Too few subjects passed: a certificate with only one or two passes may be described as partial completion of secondary school.

- Combined sittings: when results come from a school sitting and a private sitting, evaluators usually consider them together.

- A Level results: older Advanced Level passes are often evaluated as study beyond high school, and some evaluators recommend college credit for them.

- National exams from the same countries: Nigerian students may also hold NECO or NABTEB results, which evaluators review in the same way as WAEC results.

You can read how each country uses the exam in our national guides. See how Nigerian WASSCE results and degrees compare to U.S. standards. Ghana's senior high school system has its own history, older exams and grading questions. Read our full guide to WASSCE and university education in Ghana.

Why You May Need Your WAEC Results Evaluated

A WASSCE certificate is written in English, but U.S. offices still need to know what level of education it represents. People from the region usually need an evaluation for one of these reasons:

- U.S. university and college admissions: admissions offices compare your WASSCE subjects and grades with U.S. high school requirements and often ask for a GPA. See how credential evaluation helps with U.S. university and college admissions.

- Immigration: some U.S. visa programs, including the Diversity Visa, require at least a high school education or its equivalent, and a WASSCE evaluation shows how your schooling compares. The consular or USCIS officer makes the final decision.

- Employment: employers who require a high school diploma or a degree may ask for an evaluation before they hire you.

- Military enlistment: recruiters look at how your secondary education compares to a U.S. diploma.

- Professional licensing and training programs: nursing programs, apprenticeships and state boards may ask for evaluated school records.

Degrees and Other Credentials From West Africa

The WASSCE is only the start for many people. Universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the region award diplomas, Higher National Diplomas (HNDs), bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctorates, plus professional degrees in medicine, law and engineering. Each country has its own regulator, such as the National Universities Commission in Nigeria. These credentials are evaluated on their own merits, not through WAEC.

As a general pattern, evaluators often compare a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited university in the region to a U.S. bachelor's degree, while two-year diplomas and some HNDs may be compared to U.S. associate level study. The evaluation report decides, based on the program length, the institution and your transcript. Liberia has a mixed history of school records after its years of conflict, which affects which documents you can get. See how Liberian credentials are evaluated for U.S. education and employment.

The Gambia has a smaller university sector and many students complete part of their studies abroad. See how credentials from The Gambia compare to U.S. standards.

Transcripts, Grade Conversion and GPA

There are two types of evaluation, and the right one depends on who will read the report.

- General (document-by-document) evaluation: states the U.S. equivalent of each credential, for example completion of high school or a bachelor's degree. It is usually enough for employment, immigration and military enlistment.

- Course-by-course evaluation: lists every subject or course, converts each grade to a U.S. letter grade, and calculates a GPA. Universities, community colleges and licensing boards usually ask for this type, and you need it for credit transfer.

For WASSCE results, a course-by-course report converts each subject grade. Evaluators commonly place A1 near the top of the U.S. scale and the credit grades (C4 to C6) in the middle of it, but conversion tables differ between evaluators, so you should not expect a fixed rule. For a degree, the evaluator works from the university transcript, which shows course titles, credit units and grades, and from the class of degree (for example First Class or Second Class Upper) printed on the certificate.

Documents You Need for a WAEC or WASSCE Evaluation

Gather clear scans of every document before you order:

- WASSCE certificate or certificates: every sitting you want counted, school and private.

- Statement of result: if you do not have the certificate yet, the statement of result or a printout from WAEC's result checker shows the same grades. Some U.S. institutions only accept the certificate or a result verified directly by WAEC, so check with them.

- School documents: a testimonial, leaving certificate or senior high school transcript with the school's name. WAEC, not the school, issues the WASSCE certificate, so a school record helps show where you studied and can prevent questions, including from USCIS.

- University records: your degree certificate and full transcript for any study after secondary school.

- Name change documents: if the name on your certificate differs from your passport, include a marriage certificate or other proof.

Records from WAEC countries are issued in English, so you usually do not need a translation. If you also studied in a French or Arabic speaking country, those documents need a certified English translation, which you can add to the same evaluation order.

How MotaWord Evaluates Your WAEC and WASSCE Credentials

Ordering takes a few clicks, and the whole process is online:

1. Upload: upload scans or phone photos of your WASSCE certificate, statement of result and any other records, and choose a general or course-by-course evaluation. You see the price and delivery time before you pay.

2. Document check: our evaluation team checks that the documents are complete and readable. If something is missing, we contact you before the evaluation starts.

3. Evaluation: an evaluator compares your WAEC results, and any degrees, with U.S. education and writes the report following the USCIS Policy Manual standard: credible, logical and well documented.

4. Download: a MotaWord client dashboard is created for you automatically. You can follow your order, download your evaluation report and invoices, and talk to us via live chat. See everything you can do in your MotaWord client dashboard.

A standard evaluation costs $65 and is delivered in 72 hours. Same-day delivery costs $115 when you order before 3 PM ET on a weekday. A course-by-course evaluation costs $120, or $200 for same-day delivery. Live chat is available 24/7 for support.

Each office makes its own decision, and no evaluator controls the outcome of a USCIS or consular review. What a good evaluation does is give the officer or admissions reader a clear, well-documented basis for that decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is WAEC a high school diploma?

WAEC is the exam board. The WASSCE certificate it issues is the main secondary school leaving credential in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, and U.S. evaluators usually describe it as comparable to completion of high school when it shows passes in the core subjects.

What does A1 in WAEC mean?

A1 is the highest grade on the WASSCE scale, which runs from A1 down to F9. In a course-by-course evaluation, A1 is usually converted to a grade at the top of the U.S. scale.

Is the WASSCE certificate the same as the statement of result?

No. The statement of result lists your grades soon after the exam, and the certificate is issued later. Both show the same grades, but some institutions ask for the certificate or a WAEC verification.

Can I combine two WASSCE sittings in one evaluation?

Yes. Upload every certificate you want counted. Evaluators usually consider school and private candidate sittings together.

Do I need a general or a course-by-course evaluation for my WAEC results?

For university admissions or credit transfer you usually need a course-by-course evaluation with a GPA. For a job, immigration or military enlistment, a general evaluation is usually enough. Ask the receiving office if you are not sure.

How long does a WASSCE evaluation take?

A standard MotaWord evaluation is delivered in 72 hours for $65. Same-day delivery is available for $115 when you order before 3 PM ET on a weekday.

Get Your WAEC Results Ready for the U.S.

Your WASSCE certificate already proves years of work. An evaluation puts it in terms U.S. readers understand. Get your WASSCE results and degrees evaluated with MotaWord academic evaluation services.

Mark Rogers - Evaluation Specialist at MotaWord

Written and reviewed by Mark Rogers, Evaluation Specialist at MotaWord, drawing on the team's experience with WAEC, WASSCE and West African university credentials. MotaWord is SOC 2 Type II certified and a corporate member of the ATA and ITI, providing academic evaluations and certified translations in 120+ languages. Every evaluation report explains how each credential compares to U.S. education, and certified translation can be added at the quote stage when your documents are not in English. See our academic evaluation for U.S. employment →