Following a review by an independent panel of experts the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has decided to extend the time period during which students can query the grade awarded following the 2020 Examinations.
“The extension of the deadline for the reporting and making of request for queries and reviews (is) from October 23 to November 6. We will reduce the fees associated with the request for a review by 50% so now a request for a review will be US$15. Those persons who have already paid for a review the difference will refunded,” Registrar Wayne Wesley explained during a press conference from Barbados today.
These measures come after disenchantment in Guyana and the rest of the region over grades awarded.
Wesley added that the review process will include a complete re-marking of both the multiple-choice paper and the School Based Assessment (SBA) or its alternative.
“If the results remain the same the candidate will be advised. If the resulting grade is increased the candidate will be advised and receive a full refund of the review fee. In cases where the review indicates a decrease in grade such would not occur in fact the policy where a review can result in a reduced grade will be discontinued for this session,” he stated.
The council will also be putting additional capacity in place to dispatch queries in the shortest possible time. Specifically, all queries already lodged will be cleared this week, according to Wesley.
So far the Council has received 2353 requests for review at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) a total of 1.97% of the total cohort. This is however a significant increase from the 1,073 or 0.88% who made a similar request in 2019.
At the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) a total of 2,550 requests for reviews have so far been received. This is again a mere 0.46% of the cohort but a massive increase from the 720 or 0.13% who requested reviews in 2019.
He further explained that those seeking direct contact with CXC will be able to do so online by the end of this week. This measure is expected to shorten the time for a response to a review since it no longer must be directed through the local registrar.
Moving forward CXC has committed to improving its communication mechanism so as to improve its functioning and interactions with all the stakeholders who make up the examining eco-system.
“We do understand and appreciate the level of communication required to ensure that all stakeholders are treated with the kind of respect that is needed and to ensure that they also are given the clarity and understanding they require,” he stated, acknowledging that CXC relies upon the trust of various stakeholders to execute its mandate.
Also present was CXC Chair Sir Hilary Beckles, who explained that the draft report from the independent panel has been accepted by the Council and will be made available to the various Ministers of Education ahead of a meeting tomorrow.
The report is slated to be released to the public on Tuesday.
