From 1990 to 2025—what changes have occurred in HSC results?

BanglaPress Desk: The results for this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations will be published on Saturday (October 31). Once the results are released, the pass rate for this year will be known. But what have the results looked like over the past 36 years—from 1990 to 2025? An analysis reveals significant fluctuations in pass rates during this period; in some years, the pass rate fell below 25 percent, while in others, it exceeded 75 percent. This year’s HSC and equivalent examinations began on July 2, with a total of 1,270,583 regular and irregular candidates participating—though a number of students remained absent.
A review of HSC examination results from 1990 to 2025 shows that the lowest pass rate occurred in 1996, at just 24.77 percent. The highest pass rate was recorded in 2020—100 percent—during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the results from that year cannot be compared to those of standard examinations, as the results were determined through an alternative evaluation method rather than formal testing, resulting in a 100 percent pass rate.
Among recent years, there was a sharp decline in the pass rate last year. In 2024, the average pass rate for the HSC examination was 75.56 percent, which dropped to 57.12 percent in 2025—a decrease of approximately 18 percentage points within a single year. This was the lowest pass rate recorded since 2005.
In 2005, the HSC pass rate stood at 59.16 percent. In the years that followed, it fluctuated between 60 and 70 percent.
An analysis of the last 36 years shows that the pass rate was 29.70 percent in 1990. It rose to nearly 51 percent in 1991 and exceeded 65 percent in 1992. This upward trend, however, did not last long; the pass rate fell to just over 46 percent in 1993. It then climbed above 40 percent in 1994 and rose again to over 46 percent in 1995.
Subsequently, in 1996, there was a major collapse in the pass rate. That year, only 24.77 percent of students passed—the lowest rate in 36 years. Although the pass rate improved somewhat in subsequent years, it lacked consistency. In 1997, the rate was over 39 percent. It then fell to just over 28 percent in 2001 and to approximately 27 percent in 2002. In 2003, the pass rate rose to over 38 percent, and by the following year, 2004, it climbed further to nearly 48 percent.
From 2005 onwards, a significant improvement in the pass rate was observed. That year, it exceeded 59 percent. In 2006, the pass rate was approximately 64 percent; it remained above 64 percent in 2007, and by 2008, it reached nearly 75 percent. However, in 2009, it dipped slightly to just over 70 percent. In 2010 and 2011, the pass rate stood at approximately 72 percent. It then rose to over 76 percent in 2012. In 2013, the pass rate was above 71 percent, and in 2014, it climbed to nearly 76 percent. In 2015, the rate fell to approximately 66 percent. In 2016, it rose again, exceeding 72 percent. Subsequently, it dropped to approximately 67 percent in 2017 and to about 65 percent in 2018. In 2019, it increased once more, reaching nearly 72 percent.
Meanwhile, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the HSC examinations were not held in 2020. As all examinees were declared to have passed that year, the pass rate reached 100 percent. The following year, 2021, the pass rate was 95.57 percent. In 2022, it declined to 84.31 percent. In 2023, the pass rate was approximately 76 percent, and in 2024, it was over 75 percent. Most recently, in 2025, it fell further to 57 percent.
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