Education Ministry liaising with CXC as review deadline cleared

Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says although she has heard – unofficially – that some CSEC and CAPE students have been receiving results of their reviews, the ministry is still awaiting official word from the CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council).

Hundreds of regional students have complained of being unfairly graded in this year’s CAPE and CSEC exams in July. An independent review team has since been convened by the CXC. In October, it released a 46-page report, which noted “discrepancies” between teachers’ and moderators’ scores.

For some, it claimed, grades were “inflated” in teachers’ scores. “Full marks given in some cases; a score given in some cases for non-existent responses.”

It also said the moderation of SBAs “served to increase the thoroughness and improve the reliability of the process in 2020 compared to previous years.”

Parents and students had told Newsday it was a “misrepresentation of the input of teachers.”

The deadline to submit individual requests for reviews was on Friday.

Speaking with Newsday on Sunday, Gadsby-Dolly said, “They (CXC) are actually remarking those with off-site moderation for the SBAs.

“So, where there are schools that would have submitted SBAs directly to CXC online, I’ve been hearing unofficially that students have been receiving results of their review. We would have asked and they said they’d provide us with the results they would have reviewed. So we are awaiting that,” she said.

She also confirmed scholarships will still be awarded to students.