New A-Level Grading System: Here’s What You Need to Know

Uganda’s education system is changing – and so are the grading systems. In this report, we look at the new A-level grading system for the new Advanced Secondary Curriculum, also called the aligned A-level curriculum, rolled out in February 2025.

In 2026, the first cohort of the new Advanced Secondary Curriculum will sit their end-of-cycle assessments for the award of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).

In the coming months, the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) and assessment body Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) will finalized the new A-level grading system.

The new A-level grading system is meant to shift from grades to competences and levels of achievement, The Pearl Times has learnt.

Instead of letter grades A, B, C, D, E, O and F, Uneb will now use competence descriptors of A, B, C, D, and E, according to proposals by education sector players.

While there are proposals to assign descriptors of A, B, C, D, and E weight of 5,4,3,2, and 1 as points scored, there seems to be wide agreement on the levels of achievement descriptors should stand for: A for exceptional achievement, B for outstanding performance, C for satisfactory performance, D for basic understanding and E for elementary understanding.

Even the examinations will change. End-of-cycle assessment for the award of UACE will be on the basis of constructs which signify a theme measuring knowledge, skills and competencies. What this means is that candidates may score varied grades across different constructs in a subject.

It also means that the average for the scores in different constructs will form the final grade weight, according to proposals.

There may also be some changes in the papers per subjects, with some papers collapsed into the constructs.

It is important to know that Uneb, the NCDC and other education sector stakeholders are yet to finalize the new A-level grading system. These are just proposals made, which will be discussed at length before a new grading system is confirmed.

What is clear at this stage, however, is that there will be a new A-level grading system following on the new aligned A-level curriculum, just like there has been a new O-level grading system for the new lower secondary curriculum.

The new A-level curriculum and new grading system means that that the students who pioneered the new lower secondary curriculum will also go through and be graded based on the new aligned A-level curriculum.

You can see more in our guide on the new UCE grading system Here.

Meanwhile, Uneb is expected to release UACE 2025 results soon, with Uneb threatening to withhold results of schools with debts, and also clarifying on UACE 2025 results release date reports Here and There.

You can see the list of best performing A-level schools in previous UACE sittings Here and There.