After a regional outcry about the results of the CSEC and CAPE grades which were released last week, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has agreed to allow an independent team to review the process and outcomes.
The Ministry of Education announced last week, it would delay the official results until further discussions with the regional body, which administers exams for several grade levels, including fifth and sixth form.
Sir Hilary Beckles, who chairs the CXC, released a statement on Monday on the matter.
“Concerns raised in the public domain with respect to the efficacy of procedures and systems used by the Caribbean Examinations Council® (CXC®) in its computation and declaration of student performance data are of great importance to the organisation.
“The Registrar, Dr. Wayne Wesley, and his team have met with distinguished regional Ministers of Education in order to discuss these concerns and identify the underlying causes with a view to moving forward and providing clarity to our stakeholders and enhanced support.
“CXC® is satisfied that Ministers have received explanations for its positions in light of the public discourse. It is understood that while there might be policy and technical issues to be addressed immediately, the maintenance of public trust going forward is paramount.
“There will be ongoing dialogue with regional Ministries of Education based upon the official gathering of data relevant to all ventilated concerns. Each and every formally reported case will be reviewed and where remedies are required they will be applied.
“Management at CXC® has been impressive in the delivery of the July 2020 regional examinations within the context of the COVID-19 logistics nightmare, and crippling global doubt about revised examinations systems and procedures. I commend the team at CXC® for their effort to serve the best they can – the people of our region.
“Nonetheless, it was anticipated that given these specific challenges a period of review and possible revisions would follow, consistent with the regulations of the Council. It has been agreed, therefore, that an Independent Review Team will shortly begin this work and present a report for discussion with relevant stakeholders,” the statement read.
Teachers, and other school officials had been up in arms at the results which was fraught with errors. Some students were marked as absent for the entirety of the exams and received no final results. Others graded well below expected levels and overall averages were dismal. Due to the pandemic, CXC took the decision to grade based on the School Based Assessments and computerized multiple choice tests, which teachers had vehemently protested before its implementation.
