Following concerns here and across the region about this year’s results, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) yesterday announced that an Independent Review Team had found its testing, marking and grading during the 2020 Examination cycle to be “technically sound and quality assured”.
It however has decided to implement a series of measures to address the crisis created by “the variance” between the expected and actual performance of students since “communications between various elements of the [education] system could have been more effective.”
During a press conference yesterday, Council Chair Sir Hilary Beckles stated that the team had found that “CXC did well within the COVID-19 pandemic to implement an innovative modified examination strategy for the region…that the modified approach is educationally and technically sound…that the system of marking and adjudication of performance and assessment is technically sound and quality assured [and] that CXC conducted its remit in a professional manner befitting its reputation and competence.”
According to the extracts from the team’s report read by Sir Hilary there were in some cases technical challenges in the communication between CXC and some schools.
The team contended that given the fragmented nature of the “ecosystem” in which schools and ministries are dependent upon CXC and CXC dependent upon them “problems identified could’ve been placed in a better communicative response.”
The miscommunications and misunderstanding appear to originate in the structural change in assessments.
“There remain despite formal efforts of CXC, a measure of misunderstanding of the nature of the changes particularly within the schools [which] contributed to a high measure of anxiety in respect of performance,” he shared, adding that the public outcry against the Council originated largely in the notion of expected performance especially where performances were at variance with expectations.
The argument presented by the Council suggests that this “variance” originated in the marking of the School Based Assessment (SBA).
Disparity
According to Sir Hilary the report has picked up that there was a disparity in terms of expectation, prediction and what was the outcome following moderation. As a consequence the council has decided to embrace a 100% moderation moving forward.
“The decision to go for a more comprehensive and complete moderation of the SBAs this year strengthened and made more robust the examining system and they were impressed with that and believe that it’s a standard and a quality that should be supported going forward,” he added.
Registrar, Dr Wayne Wesley later revealed that discrepancies were found in 60% of the submissions. This however is in line with the normal variance as a 62% discrepancy was detected in 2019 when the council moderated a sample of SBAs rather than 100%.
There was no indication from the Council as to whether every discrepancy resulted in a reduced grade.
Following a three-hour meeting to discuss the findings of the team, CXC has declared itself satisfied with its findings and announced a series of short, medium and long-term measures to effect its 23 recommendations ahead of its 50th anniversary.
Query
In the short term the council 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 requests 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,” Wesley explained.
He 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 Cumberbatch.
So far the Council has received 2,353 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. In 2018, 2,173 or 0.002% requested a grade review.
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. In 2018 that number was 813.
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 for a review since it no longer must be directed through the local registrar.
Moving forward, CXC has committed to improving its communication mechanism 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,” Sir Hilary stated, acknowledging that CXC relies upon the trust of various stakeholders to execute its mandate.
Sir Hilary concluded that the fundamentals at CXC are sound but that relationships within the system must be more efficient consequently an audit review of the eco-system will be commissioned.
It will examine all parts of the educational system of which CXC is a critical component, the relationships between them as well as the operational and governance principles inherent within the model.
“The current crisis must not be wasted,” he stated, adding that the report will be made available to the various Ministers of Education during a meeting today.
The report will be made public tomorrow.
The Independent Review Team was convened to review the modified approach for the administration of the July/August 2020 Examinations; the moderation process applied to the SBA; and the grading process for the Examinations, among other related matters.
Chair of the review team was Professor Hazel Simmons-McDonald, Professor Emerita and retired Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Open Campus, The University of the West Indies. It also comprised Professor Andrew Downes, retired Pro Vice-Chancellor, Planning and Development, The University of the West Indies; Professor Francis De Lanoy, President of the University of Curacao; Harrilal Seecharan, retired Chief Education Officer, Ministry of Education, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; and Michael S. Browne, Minister of Education in Antigua and Barbuda and Chair of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development.
