CXC secrecy unproductive

SINCE THE CXC results were announced on August 20, the Education Minister has been busy trying to spin the results of the 2024 CSEC and CAPE examinations in May and June.

Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly declared that TT was one of the best performing countries in the region, boasting that 45 per cent of students passed five subjects or more, including maths and English. That's considered a full certificate, and TT achieved significantly more than the regional rate of 4.9 per cent overall.

Students with a full CSEC certificate are more likely to move on to CAPE studies and a tertiary education. They are also more attractive to employers seeking trainable staff.

That cohort of students with a full certificate was just 9,450 students out of 21,713. Of the overall number, 12,263 candidates passed five subjects, so there is an indeterminate number of students who might improve their certificate by resitting the mathematics exam.

Yet, the Education Ministry continues to dance around the exact number of students in the limbo of five passes without maths. Why not target these children with a corrective maths strategy that might lead them to advanced education or meaningful employment? The Education Minister's announcements since the release of the results have instead sought to make the best of a problematic situation.

But 55 per cent of students emerging from CSEC without a full certificate is something that must be aggressively addressed as well.

Over the last four years, the percentage of students leaving school without a full certificate has increased.

In 2020, it was 45 per cent of candidates. That rose to 63 per cent in 2021, 67 per cent in 2022 and 49 per cent in 2023.

Glossing over this by trumpeting how many subjects were written, how many passing grades were obtained and comparing local results with the dismal statistics in the wider Caribbean region doesn’t address the core problem. Unsurprisingly, CAPE results were robust, with candidates passing 95 per cent of subjects. CAPE students have already demonstrated academic ability in their CSEC examinations and are on a path to tertiary education.

The rise in "irregularities" in the examination regionally is another matter of concern, as students caught cheating rose from 36 to 54. Nothing has been explained about this. Is the increase the result of more focused invigilation? Were there cases of cheating found in TT?

Of immediate concern for the Education Ministry is the results in the maths exam, appalling in the region, but seriously damaging to the prospects of thousands of children who got their results last week.

The apparent mismatch between teacher, student, subject and examination in maths demands a high level engagement and action.

That should begin with the children who are hovering on the edge of a full certificate after sitting this year's exam.