Revised CXC examinations strategy explained

Recognising the impact of COVID-19 on the education system in general, more specifically on the schedule of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) regional examinations, the council has proposed a revised examinations strategy starting with all components of the exams being moved back by one month.

Speaking at the press briefing held at the Caribbean Examinations Council Headquarters yesterday was Dr. Wayne Wesley, Registrar and CEO of CXC. Wesley announced that the exams, deadlines for submissions of School-Based Assessments (SBAs) and deadlines for the submissions of additional components, would all be pushed back by one month to July 2020. The original dates for exams were set for May 4th to June 12th, but Wesley explained that the council revised the overall strategy to yield valid grades and minimise the disruption to the education system during the unprecedented situation of COVID-19.

“We do understand and appreciate what is happening in the region and we are flexible enough to respond and entertain the requisite dialogue with our local registrars to ensure that our students, which are the primary concern to us here, are not disenfranchised and are afforded the best opportunity to demonstrate their potential," said Wesley.

The modified examination process will be the administration of at least one common paper (Multiple Choice Assessment), SBAs and Paper 032s (alternative to SBA) for private candidates and will award final grades based on the moderated SBAs and Multiple Choice Papers. There are exceptions to the modifications as candidates for Modern Languages (French, Spanish and Portuguese) will have to complete an oral component and profile assessments. Also those sitting Human and Social Biology will have a Paper 2 component as that subject is without an SBA option and for Visual Arts, the submitting of journals is required.
The territories are at various stages of SBA completion and Wesley outlined that the council is working towards the best dates for the submissions of the SBAs, taking all affected into consideration. Also for those situations where, because of COVID-19 students could not reach the laboratories to complete the SBAs, a solution would be found.

The strategy will employ the e-Testing modality in order to reduce the examinations administration processing time, which will give the shortest turn-around time for marking and release of examination results. Nicole Manning, CXC Director of Operations highlighted the fact that electronic marking was not new.
“Marking is usually done electronically, there are very few subjects that are not. It is not something that we have to put in place,” stated Manning.

For those countries who may not have the best internet access, besides online modality, the council is working with the island registrars to facilitate offline processes. Through this, the disruption to the 2020/2021 academic year should be minimal especially as it relates to student applications to various universities in the region or internationally.

The seriousness of the COVID-19 situation facing the region has also pushed the council to prepare for any case including if the pandemic worsens. This has caused the CXC to gather protocols which would help prepare the students for the occasion where exams could not be held in the same building due to social distancing or further country shut downs. Diane Medford, Senior Manager for Examinations, CXC, emphasised the fact that the council was working with the local registrars.

"We are working with the local registrars and they would have been guided by their ministries of education and of course by the national protocols. So our response time is better in terms of what is happening on the ground, to make the requisite decisions and coming back to the media where that is concerned. Be rest assured we are working very closely with all our territories."

The affected candidate population registered for CAPE this year as stated by Medford was 30,016 while for CSEC was 120,380 students. Wesley noted that the council had also considered the situation where conditions had deteriorated so badly that exams could be cancelled for 2020 but stated that it was a last resort.