An alarming 67% of students failed Mathematics at the May/June Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations this year, triggering a region-wide call to address the situation.
The Caribbean Examina-tions Council (CXC) yesterday announced that only 33% of the entrants for the Mathematics examination achieved acceptable grades one to three—marking a continued decline over the last three years.
In 2010, 41% of candidates earned similar grades and last year the figure was 35%.
As a result of the situation, CXC’s Subjects Awards Committee (SAC) reported that it was “deeply concerned” about the quality of work produced by the candidates at the CSEC level.
“Topics such as the range, perimeter, and profit and loss that should be covered at the lower secondary level were not fully understood,” the SAC said, in a report to the Final Awards Committee on the situation, quoted in a release by CXC yesterday. It also noted that on a question that tested perimeter and area, 36% of the candidates scored no marks, while on a question testing algebra, 33% of candidates also scored zero.
The SAC has called on the region to address teaching and performance in Mathematics by reorganizing its Mathema-tics programme, supporting teacher training and facilitating access to instructional resources.
According to CXC, Registrar Dr Didacus Jules said the council is establishing an expert working group to recommend comprehensive changes in teaching, learning and assessment of Mathema-tics. It is providing teacher training in more effective syllabus delivery and SBA management, strengthening mathematics content on its free interactive online portal (www.notesmaster.com), providing study guides in core subject areas in CSEC and CAPE, including Mathema-tics, and encouraging participating countries to use CCLSC Mathematics as a foundation programme for developing the competencies for mastery of the subject.
Decline
Meanwhile, CXC also said that for the third straight year the overall performance in the May/June examination has declined, with 62% achieving acceptable grades, compared with 66% in 2011 and 69% in 2010.
There were 35 subjects offered for the examination, which saw improved performances in nine of them, a decline in 19, and no movement in six. One new subject, Additional Mathematics, saw 58% of candidates achieving acceptable grades.
English A was among the subjects that saw a decline, with those achieving acceptable grades plummeting to 47% , down from 67% last year. This year was the first examination since the revised syllabus took effect and the SAC blamed the decline in performance on how students fared on the Essay Paper, especially in the summary and comprehension questions. “The SAC has suggested that the teaching of the language must enable students to move away from prescribed and rehearsed answers seen in some questions, to the point where they can effectively and appropriately use rhetorical devices that enrich expression and facilitate comprehension,” CXC said.
In English B, there was also a slight decline in performance when this year’s results were compared with those of last year. A revised syllabus was also introduced this year and the SAC found that candidates had trouble with the Poetry Profile and this affected the overall performance in the subject. Performance in the other two profiles, Drama and Prose Fiction.
