What Happens When an Exam- Oriented Country Announces Auto-Pass Grading Impacts of the Exclusion of 2021 SSC English in Bangladesh

Though dedicated research on the impact of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams exists, a curveball was thrown into the situation in 2020 following COVID-19. Resultantly, 2020 and 2021 saw the removal of the SSC English paper exams, the consequences of which could be immediate and far-reaching simultaneously. In that light, this paper tries to fill the research gap by exploring how the exclusion of the SSC 2021 English exam has impacted the autopassed students in terms of their learning (or lack thereof), the amount and quality of preparation, and the aftereffects they faced as college students. To explore this issue, this qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews with six SSC 2021 examinees. Results show a significant lack of English learning due to a lack of exam incentives. Next, those who received a lower grade were unhappy with their auto-pass grades. Finally, some examinees with less developed English skills had trouble understanding lectures at college. Implications of this study suggest teachers and the administration to be considerate towards SSC 2021 examinees, many of whom may require hands-on aid to cope with current studies after skipping the SSC 2021 English exam.