CXC review report: Modified approach the best option

THE independent review team convened by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) released its long-awaited report on Wednesday.

In the report, the team determined that a modified approach used by the council to administer exams to students across the region is the “best option under the circumstances.”

Parents and students across the region were left outraged by what they say was an unfair assessment of the students’ work. Protests erupted in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and in TT.

The 46-page report detailed the events leading up to the final decision to modify the exam and concluded that the council made the best possible decision to keep the region safe from the spread of the covid19 virus as well as preserving the integrity of the CAPE and CSEC exams.

The report said taking the virus into consideration, the council considered four options: all exams administered as scheduled (Papers one, two and three); all exams rescheduled to a later date in the year using a modified format; all exams cancelled for the year with SBA scores and teachers’ predictive grades being used for grading and; all exams postponed until 2021.

In considering the full administration of the exams, the council determined this would lead to a very high exposure to the virus and a long processing time of up to five months, disrupting the education system and matriculation.

It said the council also determined the issue of using the teachers’ predicted grades for each subject was not an option as data for previous years found a “weak correlation between the final grade for the three papers and the teachers’ predicted grade in general.”

Many parents and students felt the council should have followed the example of the UK which, to avoid the spread of the virus, opted to use students' predictive grades for grading as opposed to sit-in exams. The council, however, felt this would lower the integrity of the examination body.

“The approach adopted was more ‘careful and rigorous’ and sought to avoid the pitfalls of the UK which had used only predictive grades,” said the report. It also said incorporating the teachers’ predicted grades would have raised the issue of weighting those grades by CXC’s standards.

“It was determined that the use of the Paper 1 (multiple choice) and Paper 3 (SBA) would be examined as these two would allow for coverage of all profiles, including those normally examined in the Paper 2 which was omitted in the agreed modified model.”

The report also said it was satisfied with the consultations held by the council with relevant stakeholders during the months of March and April, including Ministries of Education, local registrars, the Caribbean Union of Teachers, Caribbean Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, the University of the West Indies, the United States Embassy in Barbados and others, as well as teachers, students and parents before making a decision.

The report also pointed out challenges with the moderation process. “It is important to note that full moderation of the paper 3 (SBAs) resulted in lower scores than those teachers had awarded, said the report.”

It said the council noted “discrepancies” in teachers’ scores and moderator scores. In some instances, grades were “inflated” in teachers’ scores. “Full marks given in some cases; a score given in some cases for a non-existent response.”

The team said the moderation of paper 3 “served to increase the thoroughness and improve the reliability of the process in 2020 compared to previous years.”

The report also said there were limitations in the grading model, revealed by a simulation exercise with data from previous years. It said these limitations along with the “extensive” moderation of the SBA’s could have resulted in “less than expected performance in some subjects at both CAPE and CSEC levels,” which it said merits urgent attention.

In its recommendations, the team suggested the Request For Reviews (RFRs) deadline be extended beyond October 23 and expedited RFRs.

The team also recommended the council have a “reflection workshop” focused on improved communication with local registrars about the grading exercise and function of profiles in grading. It also recommended the council have a “damage control campaign…to inform a positive public relations perception.”

The report said the council must address all queries submitted with urgency. The council made the decision to decrease the fee to query grades by 50 percent, reducing the cost from US$30 to $15.