By Lucy Steward
Since its establishment just over 25 years ago, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has contributed significantly to regional co-operation in education. In all aspects of its operation, CXC has brought together teachers, university and college lecturers, subject specialists and resource persons from the public and private sectors to participate in activities such as syllabus development, paper setting, marking and grading.
The Council is now well known for the high quality of its syllabuses, thoroughness in its procedures, and valid and reliable examinations to meet the needs of a changing environment regionally and internationally. However, the journey has not always been easy. But the determination and vision of educators across the region have helped in the introduction of several innovations that mark the Council’s work in carrying out its main regional mandate:
“to conduct examinations as it thinks appropriate and award certificates and diplomas on the results of examinations so conducted”.
Sixteen countries participate in the Council’s activities. Membership of the Council includes the Vice Chancellors and representatives of the Universities of the West Indies and Guyana, representatives of the participating countries and of national teachers associations. The work of the Council is conducted through the Administrative and Finance Committee (AFC) and the School Examinations Committee (SEC) and its Sub-Committee (SUBSEC). In addition, the Constitution provides for National Committees established by each participating government. Subject panels are appointed to prepare and review syllabuses and examination committees set question papers, prepare mark schemes and supervise the marking by examiners and assistant examiners.
This very extensive network reflects a regional commitment to a consultative process for the management of the affairs of the Council and for ensuring quality and relevance in education provisions.
CXC offers examinations for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) at the end of the five-year secondary cycle. The Council also offers the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) at the post-CSEC level. Currently the examinations are available in thirty-three subjects for CSEC and in seventeen subjects for CAPE, introduced as a pilot in seven subjects in 1998.
The number of candidates has also increased. For the first examinations in June 1979, 30,194 candidates registered for the examinations, and 58,708 subject entries were received.
With the increase in candidates and in subjects offered, in 1998, the Council examined nine subjects in the January examinations: 71,127 candidates registered, and 26,235 subject entries were received. In June 1998, 116,465 candidates registered, and 440,301 subject entries were received.
The Council, in its formative years, in particular, worked very hard to gain acceptance and credibility in a region where British education traditions and examinations were deeply entrenched. The Council’s work was not made any easier by the fact that it sought not merely to replace overseas examinations, but to indigenise curriculum and modify the ways of conducting assessment.
The main changes, radical at the time, were a switch from norm-referenced testing to criterion-referenced testing; the introduction of internal assessment or school-based assessment; reporting performance by grades and profiles and the integration of technical and vocational subjects with academic subjects.
These changes were new to teachers, parents and employers, and the Council embarked on intense teacher training workshops in collaboration with Ministries of Education across the region. Further, the Council had to put in place controls and procedures that give all stakeholders assurance about international recognition of certification.
In order to do this, when the first examinations were introduced, the Council contracted chief examiners from the UK and mainly from Cambridge. The Council also obtained assistance from the Education Testing Service in Princeton, USA. Through this collaboration, the Council was able to equate grades awarded with those awarded by overseas bodies. In addition to the grades, the Council provided information on candidates’ strengths and weaknesses using profiles.
Perhaps the most innovative feature introduced by the Council was the School-Based Assessment (SBA). This was a proud banner under which the Council marched, since the Council was way ahead of many other examining bodies in taking the plunge in this area. Two former Chairmen, Sir Roy Augier and Dr. Dennis Irvine (1998) noted that:
‘It was a frequent boast and pardonable exaggeration that in implementing the idea, the CXC was ahead of the English boards. However, the innovation required Council staff to engage in demanding forms of moderation, and teachers have grown increasingly restless as the number of subjects demanding school-based assessment has grown. The teachers claim to be burdened beyond tolerable limits by the number of assignments they have to mark and record. However, the Council remains fully committed to school-based assessment, and efforts are constantly made to assist schools and teachers with its implementation’. (p.154)
The Council is looking very seriously at the demands of the SBA because the number of subjects has increased significantly. In addition, in responding to the need to provide educational opportunities for persons outside educational institutions, the Council has been developing alternative examinations for these candidates.
Presently, private candidates can take examinations in 12 subjects in the January sitting. The introduction of examinations for private candidates is in keeping with a regional thrust to provide persons with opportunities for life-long learning.
The Council continues to respond to changing demands and is determined to improve the quality and range of its services and products. For example, before 1998, candidates’ performance was reported on a five-point grading scale. However, educators identified a need for greater distinction between grade boundaries. The Council has addressed this issue and, since June 1998, performance is reported on a six-point grading scheme with Grades I, II and III in the new scheme equivalent to Grades I and II in the old scheme. Other examples of the Council’s sensitivity to the needs of the region are in its current efforts to reduce the demands of internal assessment and to work with Governments to provide national examinations for a wider range of abilities.
Now that the examinations for CSEC are well established, the Council has embarked on activities at the post-CSEC level in response to a mandate from Ministers of Education for a new developmental model at this level. The mandate is clear that the model should not be a replica of ‘A’ level examination but rather should provide flexibility in subject options and in access to programmes.
Between 1980 and 1988, the Council reported to the Standing Committee of Ministers, responsible for Education (SCME) on the progress of work done in the development of an alternative to the A’ Level examinations.
With funding from the Commonwealth Secretariat, a study was done which showed wide support for a regional examination, equivalent in standard to the ‘A’ level, but differing from it in its philosophical assumptions and, consequently, in its structure. In addition to the study, consultations were held with the University of the West Indies (UWI), the University of Guyana (UG), other tertiary institutions including community colleges and key educators across the region.
Table 1: SUBJECTS EXAMINED FOR CARIBBEAN SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
| SUBJECT | PROFICIENCY |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Science (Double Award) | General |
| Agricultural Science (Single Award) | General |
| Art | General |
| Art and Craft | General |
| Biology | General |
| Bookkeeping | Basic |
| Building Technology | Technical |
| Caribbean History | General & Basic |
| Chemistry | General |
| Clothing and Textiles | General |
| Craft | General & Basic |
| Electrical/Electronics | General |
| English A | General & Basic |
| English B | General & Basic |
| Food and Nutrition | General & Basic |
| French | General & Basic |
| Geography | General & Basic |
| Home Economics: Management | General & Basic |
| Information Technology | General & Technical |
| Integrated Science (Double Award) | General |
| Integrated Science (Single Award) | General & Basic |
| Mathematics | General & Basic |
| Mechanical Engineering Technology | Technical |
| Metals | General & Basic |
| Office Procedure | General & Basic |
| Physics | General |
| Principles of Accounts | General |
| Principles of Business | General |
| Religious Education | General & Basic |
| Shorthand and Typed Transcription | General |
| Social Studies | General & Basic |
| Spanish | General & Basic |
| Technical Drawing | General & Basic |
| Typewriting | General & Basic |
| Woods | General & Basic |
Table 2: CARIBBEAN ADVANCED PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION (UP TO 2000)
| SUBJECT | UNITS |
|---|---|
| Phase I | |
| Caribbean Studies | 1 unit |
| Communication Studies | 1 unit |
| Functional Spanish | 1 unit |
| History | 1st unit |
| Information Technology | 1 unit |
| Mathematics | 1st unit |
| Statistical Analysis | 1 unit |
| Phase II | |
| Accounting | 2 units |
| Applied Mathematics | 1 unit |
| Biology | 2 units |
| Chemistry | 2 units |
| Electrical and Electronic Technology | 1 unit |
| French | 2 units |
| Functional French | 2nd unit |
| History | 2 units |
| Literatures in English | 2 units |
| Mathematics | 2nd unit |
| Physics | 2 units |
| Spanish | 2 units |
| Phase III (for 2000) | |
| Art and Design | 2 units |
| Computer Science | 2 units |
| Economics | 2 units |
| Geography | 2 units |
| Geometrical & Mechanical Engineering Drawing | 2 units |
| Law | 2 units |
| Management of Business | 2 units |
The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) was, therefore, born out of the same set of diagnoses that gave birth to the establishment of Community Colleges; innovative curricula at the post-secondary level; open access to learning opportunities; and, the push for a regional accreditation system that enjoys full support within the region, and convertibility across the international community.
CAPE is intended to provide assessment and appropriate certification for a diverse and rapidly expanding population. It is envisaged that the members of this population will prepare themselves for the examinations, using a variety of delivery modes and in different sequences.
The primary objective of CAPE is to provide a coherent and transparent certification, which is recognised regionally and internationally, and which establishes equivalencies across upper secondary and lower tertiary education in the Caribbean with a view to: clarifying routes to educational advancement; and promoting better articulation between educational pathways.
CAPE is designed to:
- satisfy entry requirements to universities and other tertiary institutions regionally and internationally;
- assess achievement in courses that are equivalent in standard to the ‘A’ level;
- include courses that are less narrow and specialised in nature to the ‘A’ level;
- provide assessment in technical/vocational subjects as in traditional academic subjects;
- provide for assessment of core skills;
- satisfy the educational needs of a larger percentage of the post-CSEC population;
- cater to a wider range of abilities and interests than the ‘A’ level;
- allow for flexibility in choice of subjects and in time and place of study;
- address the manpower needs of the region.
The provision of tertiary education in the Caribbean region is a source of great concern. At their meeting in Montego Bay, in July 1996, Heads of Government, recognising the imperative of tertiary education and training for the development of the Region, set the target for an increase in the enrolment of graduates to tertiary institutions from the secondary education system at 15 per cent to be achieved by the year 2005. CAPE responds to this mandate by providing flexibility and the opportunity to increase access to quality education at the post-CSEC level.
Flexibility in CAPE is realised through a structure of 1- and 2-Unit courses. A 1-Unit course requires 120 contact hours; a 2-Unit course requires 240 contact hours.
A candidate can opt for breadth by selecting several 1-Unit courses and for depth by doing 2-Unit courses. For example, a person wishing to specialise in the Sciences can take the 2-Unit courses in the Sciences but may also wish to take a I-Unit course in Functional Spanish or in the Management of Business.
Quality is achieved through inputs from experts and other resource persons in the various disciplines, so that the syllabuses have the required breadth and depth, reflect current thinking in the disciplines and incorporate elements to meet current and anticipated needs of the region within a global context. The programme is also enhanced by the inclusion of six core courses:
Caribbean Studies; Communication Studies; Statistical Analysis; Information Technology; Functional Spanish, and Functional French.
The purpose of these core courses is to provide opportunity for persons to acquire generic skills. They also allow candidates to pursue ancillary, complementary or contrasting subjects without prejudice to the main area of specialisation.
Because of the need for assurance about international recognition, the stipulated content for an ‘A’ level offering is incorporated in the 2-Unit courses. At all stages in the development of CAPE, extensive consultations and regional and international scrutiny take place in order to ensure quality, thoroughness, relevance and marketability.
The Council is collaborating with the tertiary education institutions in the region in the development of CAPE, in order to realise economies, increase enrolments and maintain high standards. The present Chairman of Council, Sir Keith Hunte (1999), noted that:
‘In the light of the severe economic pressures that are being exerted on the budgets of our respective governments, we should always be exploring the best ways to achieve our objectives in the most cost-effective mode.
In several areas the lack of critical mass leads to the incurring of the high unit cost for development, test construction and administration of examinations.
In the areas where we have a common agenda in relation to the courses that should be offered, we ought to assume joint responsibility for syllabus construction and development but consider redefining the benefits to be gained by common regional or sub-regional examinations’. (p.13)
The Council is at the service of ministries, institutions and public and private sector enterprises. The established practices, wide network of educators at regional and international levels and the investments in appropriate technologies are assets on which the various bodies can draw. For example, in order to realise economies and ensure regional and international currency of certification, the Council can assist at national level in syllabus development, provision and administration of examinations, training local persons in assessment procedures, and analysis and research necessary for improving the quality of education at all levels. In recent times, the Council has already undertaken some of these activities. It is hoped that this collaboration and partnership will increase as the region makes a concerted effort and takes systematic short and long-term measures to ensure that it has the human capital to meet its developmental needs in a highly competitive global environment.
As a CARICOM institution, CXC has benefited from the guidance and intervention of the CARICOM Secretariat and from the support of Governments. Despite economic pressures, regional governments remain firmly committed to education provision at all levels. CXC has also benefited from the hard work of education officials, lecturers, teachers and other educators, and a pool of resource persons from across the region.
Thanks to the policy makers and to all stakeholders across the region for the invaluable contribution to this regional effort, and to what is certainly a success story in regional co-operation for human development.
End notes
- Caribbean Examinations Council (1999). Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations. CXC Barbados.
- Augier, R. and Irvine, D. (1998). Caribbean Examinations Council in Examination Systems in Small States, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, Bray, M. and Steward, L. (Eds).
Reference
1. CARICOM Perspective, No. 69, June 1999, pp. 65-69
[*] The paper was published in “The Caribbean Community: Beyond Survival”, edited by Professor Kenneth Hall., 2001, Ian Randle Publishers.
