Paper, e-testing to be used for CSEC, CAPE

– CXC says credibility of exam will remain intact

DPI, Guyana, Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Caribbean Examination Council revealed on Thursday that the integrity of the CSEC and CAPE examinations remain intact. This follows the recent decision by the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) to hold the exams in July.

Additionally, students whose schools have access to technology infrastructure will be administered the CSEC and CAPE examinations through the E-testing modality.

Students without internet access will be required to sit the conventional paper exam.

This was disclosed by CXC Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Wayne Wesley during an online press conference.

The administration of a single multiple-choice paper and Paper 3/2 for external candidates will be done in July. The expanded moderation exercise, according to CXC, is in keeping with their quality assurance and standards to ensure that candidates are assessed fairly across the board.

Visual Arts, CSEC French, Portuguese and Spanish and Human and Social Biology (HSB) will be administered in their usual fashion – Papers One and Two for HSB, oral exams for the languages and the journal for Art.

The Registrar also explained that all examinations will adhere to all social distancing rules and will observe every national health precaution put in place by CARICOM member states.

“Our priority is health and well-being of all our stakeholders,” Dr. Wesley stated.

When concerns were raised about the E-testing modality, the CXC panel pointed to countries such as the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla which have are already using this method for the administration of the tests.

The examinations will produce valid grades and test skills and competencies learned in the five to seven years of learning in Secondary Schools.

The deadline for School-based Assessments (SBAs) and Internal Assessments (IAs) is June 30.

Approximately 120,000 students are expected to sit the CSEC examinations while over 30,000 are registered to sit CAPE.

The examinations which are usually held in May/June annually were postponed amid concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic.