HSC passes plummet to two-decade low at 58.83pc, highest-grade score halves

Average pass rate in this year's Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations plummets to a two-decade low at 58.83 per cent while the highest-grade GPA score halved compared to last year's.
The successes rate shows 18.95-percentage-point fall from that of last year, in what education officials describe as a result of "correction". Last year, the combined pass rate was 77.78 per cent.
A total of 69,097 students achieved GPA-5 in the HSC and equivalent examinations this year in a climb-down from 145,911 in 2024-the year of a turbulent political changeover.
The last time results were this poor was in 2004, when the pass rate stood at 47.9 per cent.
On another count of regress, not a single candidate did pass from 202 higher-secondary institutions, against 65 of last year.
The all-pass ones also tumbled to 345 this time from the height of 1,388 in 2024.
Of the successful candidates, 69,097 students, or 9.5 per cent, achieved a GPA-5. In comparison, 77.78 per cent of students passed in 2024, and 145,911 secured the top grade.
This indicates an 18.95-percentage-point drop in the pass rate year on year and a decline of 76,814 GPA-5 achievers.
The results were officially published at 10:00am Thursday, with education board chairmen making the announcements from their respective offices. Students can access their results through the official board websites or via SMS.
The sharp fall in performance mirrors a similar decline in this year's Secondary School Certificate (SSC) results, affected by recent changes in exam-script assessment under the interim administration.
The SSC pass rate dropped to 68.45 per cent-the lowest in 15 years.
Disruptions and new evaluation methods: The 2023 HSC exams marked the first time since the pandemic that tests were held with full marks and duration. However, in 2024, only seven subjects were examined before the student-led movement halted the rest. Those unexamined subjects were later graded through subject mapping based on SSC results.
In previous years, the pandemic had led to abridged syllabuses and delayed schedules. In 2022, some 85.95 per cent of students passed, with 176,282 achieving GPA-5. In 2021, when exams were held on a limited syllabus, the pass rate soared to 95.26 per cent and 189,169 students bagged the top grade.
There were no HSC exams in 2020--results were awarded based on JSC and SSC performances, with 161,807 GPA-5 recipients. Before the pandemic, in 2019, the pass rate was 73.93 per cent, and 47,286 students earned GPA-5.
No 'grace marks' this time: Associate Professor Fahmida Haque of Eden Mohila College, a long-time HSC English examiner, says the drop in both pass rate and GPA-5 numbers may be linked to the absence of "grace marks".
"The culture of awarding grace marks has long existed, often driven by examiner sympathy for borderline candidates," she explains. "If boards instructed examiners not to offer grace marks this year, the effect would naturally be reflected in lower pass rates and fewer GPA-5s."
A break from past practices: Under the previous Awami League government, HSC and SSC results were ceremonially unveiled by the prime minister, with board chairmen submitting reports at the Prime Minister's Office, followed by a press briefing by the education minister.
A change in the set pattern comes following the 2024 uprising that unseated the AL government. The interim government has discontinued this tradition. Instead, board chairmen presented the overall results at a press conference at Dhaka Education Board in the capital.

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