Teachers, parents reps put CXC assessment overhaul under scrutiny

A sweeping reform of secondary and advanced examinations has triggered calls for oversight, as representatives of teachers and parents warned that replacing coursework with a new timed paper could widen achievement gaps and fail to address longstanding flaws in the system.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) said last week it would replace school-based assessments (SBAs) with a new examination paper — paper 032 — for most non-practical Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects.

Under the new format, candidates will receive their assessment topics several months before the examination and complete the final written exercise under invigilated conditions using notes prepared in advance.