CXC assures quick review of exam grade queries

QUERIES on grades in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) exams will be done swiftly. This was the assurance Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), during a press conference on Sunday.

Since results came out on September 22, many students throughout the region have complained about getting grades below what they expected. As a result, CXC formed a committee to review the exams and Beckles said the 2020 examinations were done fairly despite the need to adapt to the pandemic.

To accommodate the unprecedented changes, CXC modified some of its protocols. The deadline for reporting and making queries on the exam results was moved from October 23 to November 6. CXC has also reduced the review fee from US$30 to US$15. For students who had their results reviewed and a higher grade awarded, CXC will offer a refund.

Students who were absent for the exam, would be allowed to take it over for free next year. Communications between all stakeholders was one of the major issues, a CXC report highlighted. For example, students went into the examination believing their SBA mark was the fixed mark.

However, Beckles said, CXC can modify the students' mark when the SBA is reviewed. This, he added, may have been one cause for confusion over the finals grades students got. "CXC could have responded with greater alacrity. Notwithstanding the growing challenges of the covid19 pandemic," he admitted.

Typically, schools send a sample of SBA projects to CXC for review. This year, 100 per cent of the SBAs were sent and CXC intends to keep this model of review.

Beckles said students experienced more anxiety this year thanks to the pandemic which brought stress over uncertainty of examinations and the change in format. Beckles said the challenges the pandemic brought gave CXC the push needed to adopt digital practices that were in the pipeline.

However, the digital divide proved to be problematic as access to the internet and digital devices highlighted how students in lower socio-economic brackets were disadvantaged.

Because of covid19, CXC had to modify its approach to the exams, dropping paper two and only using the multiple choice and school based assessments (SBAs) to grade students.

This approach, stated CXC Registrar Dr Wayne Wesley, though paper two was left out, did not affect the grade weighting. The topics in paper one and the SBA would have determined the grade profile. All education ministers from participating Caribbean countries were sent the report prior to the press conference.

CXC will meet with education ministers and other stakeholders to further discuss the results of the report. Efforts by Newsday to reached Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly for a comment on Sunday proved futile as calls to her mobile went unanswered.