Sahel EDU

How to calculate the annual average from the three terms, then decide on promotion

A student’s annual average is the average of the three term averages: (T1 + T2 + T3) ÷ 3. This is the rule of the joint order that sets the school calendar each year, subject to the specific texts on continuous assessment. This guide gives the formula, a worked example, the cases where two ways of calculating give two different results, and how the annual average then informs the decision to promote a student to the next class.

The formula: the average of the three term averages

Each term produces an overall average; the guide on the term average explains the method. The annual average is obtained by adding the three averages and dividing by three. The terms are what count: the sequences are already included in their term and must not be added a second time.

There is no longer a separate end-of-third-term composition: the end-of-year composition takes its place. Check how your school’s internal rules fit it into the third term. The former system, with six administrative sequences, divided their sum by six; the two calculations only coincide if each term has exactly two sequences of equal weight.

A worked example: from three terms to the annual average

Take the Form 4 student from the guide on the term average. The overall averages below are invented for the example.

The sum is 11.97 + 12.50 + 10.85 = 35.32. The annual average is 35.32 ÷ 3 = 11.7733, or 11.77 out of 20. It is above 10: the student meets the average condition usually applied for promotion, which the end-of-year class council must still confirm.

First term: 11.97 out of 20, the result worked out in the guide on the term average.
Second term: 12.50 out of 20.
Third term: 10.85 out of 20.

Term averages or subject by subject: watch the gaps

You can also work out an annual average for each subject and then weight it by the coefficients. This second route is not the one in the text, and it gives the same result only if the three terms cover the same subjects, all marked, with the same coefficients.

Example with two subjects, Mathematics (coefficient 4) and Biology (coefficient 2). Mathematics: 12, 14 and 10. Biology: 8 in the first term, not marked in the second, 12 in the third. By the rule of the text: T1 = (12 × 4 + 8 × 2) ÷ 6 = 10.67; T2 = 14; T3 = 10.67; annual average = 11.78. Subject by subject: Mathematics 12, Biology 10, which gives (12 × 4 + 10 × 2) ÷ 6 = 11.33. A gap of nearly half a mark is enough to tip a decision.

A term has more than two sequences, or sequences of different weights.
A subject is not marked during one term, as in the example.
A coefficient changes from one term to the next, for instance after a change of stream.

From the annual average to the end-of-year decision

The annual average informs the decision; it does not make it. The end-of-year class council decides on promotion, repeating the year, orientation or exclusion, and the decision appears on the annual report card.

We found no national text that sets the pass mark for promotion. The constant practice is an annual average of at least 10 out of 20; the press reported the same requirement for official exams in 2025, with no published circular that we could find. The school’s internal rules apply, in the same way for every class.

Annual average of at least 10 out of 20: promotion to the next class, according to common practice.
Lower average: the council considers repeating the year. An exclusion for serious misconduct belongs to the disciplinary council, not to the average.
In Form 4, the BEPC (the end-of-lower-secondary diploma) is still required to enter the upper cycle: the 1998 framework law demands the end-of-first-cycle diploma. A student admitted by the council but without the BEPC does not move up.
In primary school, promotion is collective within a given level (SIL-CP, CE1-CE2, CM1-CM2); repeating is possible only exceptionally, at the parent’s request.
Orientation (second language, stream) is proposed by the class council, together with the guidance counsellor.

Special cases and common mistakes

These situations come back every year. Set the rule in writing, before calculating, and apply it to the whole class.

Student who joined during the year: do not count zero for a term in which they were not enrolled; the school rules say which terms their average is based on.
Third term counted double: some school rules weight the terms, whereas the national text speaks of (T1 + T2 + T3) ÷ 3 “subject to specific texts”. Apply the weighting in your rules, the same for everyone.
Counting the sequences on top of the terms: each mark then enters the average twice.
Rounding each term average before adding them: keep the decimals until the final result.
Copying a term average without recalculating it after a mark has been corrected.
Mixing scales, an average out of 10 and one out of 20, without converting first.

What Sahel EDU calculates for you

Sahel EDU calculates the annual average from the terms alone: the sequences, already included in their term, are never counted a second time. Each term weighs the same as the others, unless the school sets a different rule; a term with no marks at all is ignored and is not counted as zero. The annual rank is worked out from the annual averages.

The report card of the last term shows the averages of the year and the end-of-year decision. At the end-of-year council, the possible decisions are: admitted, admitted on condition, repeats, oriented, excluded. In primary school, collective promotion within a level is applied in one step, and a repeat year is recorded only if the parent’s request has been recorded first. Sahel EDU proposes; the council decides.

Frequently asked questions

Is the annual average the average of the six sequences?

Only if each term has two sequences of equal weight and the same coefficients. The current text speaks of the average of the three terms: that is the one to apply.

What average is needed to move up to the next class?

We found no national text that sets it; the constant practice is 10 out of 20, and the school’s internal rules apply. The decision belongs to the class council.

How do I treat a student who joined after the first term?

Do not count zero for the term in which they were absent from the school, and write the rule into the internal rules so that it applies to everyone. Sahel EDU ignores a term with no marks.

Should the annual average be rounded?

Keep every decimal until the result, then round to the hundredth. We have not found a national text that fixes rounding: follow your school’s rules.

Can I try this calculation on my own classes?

Yes. The free trial lasts 30 days, with no commitment. The price is then negotiated with each school and can be read on the Pricing page.

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