EXAMS SET FOR JULY

CXC registrar Dr Wayne Wesley announced  that CSEC and CAPE will take place in July. -
CXC registrar Dr Wayne Wesley announced that CSEC and CAPE will take place in July. -

READY or not, the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations will be held in July.

This was the assurance from Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) registrar Dr Wayne Wesley who spoke on Thursday at a virtual media conference in Barbados. Speaking to the 30,000 CAPE students and 120,000 CSEC students, spread across several Caribbean countries, he assured there will be no further delay in holding these exams.

Wesley said that following the decision by Caricom’s Council for Human and Social Development (COSHOD), CXC will be administering regional examinations in July with results available by the first week of September. Asked about a worsening of the covid19 situation in the region, Wesley said COSHOD members would have to reconvene and address the issue.

Asked about the Jamaican government’s statement that it cannot hold exams in July (due to challenges faced by students) Wesley said he was unable to speak about it at this moment and added that countries do have their own sovereign authority.

On the Barbados Union of Teachers also calling for a suspension of exams, he replied that for countries with serious challenges, bilateral talks can be held. Asked whether CXC would consider a further postponement, Wesley said the decision by Caricom is clear.

“There is a date. This is not the time for a level of uncertainty.” He said the goals of the modified examination process included yielding valid grades and minimising the disruption to the education system. He said CXC will apply the appropriate weighting to ensure candidates are treated in a fair and unbiased manner. “We will preserve the integrity of the examination.”

HEALTH, SAFETY KEY PRIORITIES

Wesley explained that the e-testing modality will be applicable to institutions and territories that can facilitate it and where this is not possible, such as territories with insurmountable infrastructural challenges, the paper-based modality will be implemented.

“Health and safety is the number one priority of the council and we will ensure the well-being of stakeholders in these unprecedented times.”

He said examinations will follow the health guidelines of the particular country including physical distancing, wearing of masks and sanitisation. These guidelines would also apply to any student presenting with covid19-like symptoms. He added that CXC continues to work with local registrars to ensure all required systems are getting off the ground.

CXC assistant registrar Dianne Medford said that Dominica and Anguilla have indicated their capability for e-testing. She reported that the deadline for the other territories previously passed, but CXC sent another request last week and is hoping to receive confirmation by the middle of the month.

She said for the e-testing, a platform was secured and CXC staff, local registrars and individuals have received training as recently as last week. Asked about the risk of cheating while doing the exams online, Medford said the platform is secure, has a safe browser to prevent going on to other sites, and has an offline mode in case there is a power outage.

CXC director of operations Nicole Manning said that e-testing is not a new system and has been previously implemented in different jurisdictions including Anguilla.

Students will be graded based on multiple choice exams and their school based assessments (SBAs) while for languages teleconferencing was being looked at for oral examinations.

Asked if multiple choice exams are sufficient for testing students' competency, Wesley said extensive analysis was done to ensure the exams cover the necessary skills and competencies of students.

He said CXC is cognizant of the fact that the time frame would have an impact on students’ readiness but pointed out that Paper 2 was not being offered which should reduce the level of anxiety of students.

Asked about the psychological impact on students during the pandemic which has seen all schools in all Caricom nations being closed, he said CXC is aware of this but the council must balance a number of factors in making the determination to hold exams in July. Wesley was also asked about teachers not being paid to mark SBAs, which has been an issue in TT, and he replied this was a localised issue.

STUDENT ANXIETY

An immediate response to CXC’s announcements, TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Antonia De Freitas told Newsday that Education Minister Anthony Garcia previously told the media that the July exams will be paper-based, as TT is not ready to do e-testing.

She said the ministry has been trying to implement e-testing for the last two to three years but such a process usually takes some years to be ready. “What the State has decided, we have to be guided by that.”

She said that since March 16, teachers have been reporting difficulties with contacting their CAPE and CSEC students. She explained that teachers have been contacting these students but they have not been responding.

“Some teachers are deeply frustrated and pulling their hair out because students have not finished their SBAs and they have not been able to get in touch with them.”

She said TTUTA has a general council meeting Friday and will discuss the matter further with a view to offering solutions to the ministry to deal with this particular dilemma.

De Freitas said TTUTA is also concerned about the mental health of both teachers and students, and not only those writing CSEC and CAPE, but the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exams as well. She said TTUTA has reports of students having anxiety attacks.

“We would ask and plead that before they look to do any curriculum revision or reinforcement, that they offer a measure of counselling and support to ensure the students have gotten over their fears and anxieties.” She stressed the importance of allaying students’ fears about going to school and doing exams.

“We have to encourage and motivate them to do what they have to do. That should come before we go into any interaction to deal with curriculum and deal with examinations.” Attempts to reach Minister Garcia via calls and WhatsApp messages proved unsuccessful.

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