— Professor Simmons-McDonald heads CXC team to review 2020 examinations

STUDENTS from 11 schools across Guyana who had received ‘ungraded’ in their Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) 2020 examinations results have since received results with grades, a statement from the Ministry of Education (MoE) informed on Friday.

This latest news comes even as CXC announced, also on Friday, that retired Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus, Professor Hazel Simmons-McDonald will head the independent team that will do a holistic review of the Council’s 2020 examinations. This team is expected to commence work immediately and report to the CXC Chairman by Friday, October 16.

In the MoE statement issued on Friday, the ministry revealed that, in Guyana, a total of 20 schools had thus far reported having students who have received “ungraded” results across 15 subject areas written at this year’s sittings of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE).
Of the 20 schools that have made reports, the 11 schools that have since seen their students’ issues addressed are Port Kaituma Secondary, Patentia Secondary, Annandale Secondary, New Amsterdam Secondary, Paramakatoi Secondary, Harmony Secondary, Carmel Secondary, Central High School, The Bishops’ High School, Leguan Secondary School and Mahaicony Secondary School.

With regards to CSEC, the subjects that were initially ‘ungraded’ but have since been rectified are English A, Principles of Business, Office Administration, Economics, and Human and Social Biology while for CAPE grades were received for previously “ungraded” results in Geography Unit 1.
As pertains to the remaining nine schools with unresolved ungraded results, the ministry said CXC has committed to providing an update on those at the earliest possible time.
Other affected subject areas for which students have received “ungraded” results include Physical Education and Sports, Mathematics, and Theatre Arts for CSEC and for CAPE Caribbean Studies, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Accounting Units 1 and 2, Law Unit 1, and Pure Mathematics Units 1 and 2.
The MoE release noted that a number of factors contributed to candidates’ results being recorded as ungraded; however, no information was provided on what exactly those factors were.
“The ministry has immediately begun to revert to pre-existing systems which will be strengthened to prevent a reoccurrence,” the statement offered.

REQUESTED REVIEWS
Meanwhile, as it pertains to alleged unjustified, unacceptable results issued by CXC, the ministry disclosed that thus far a total of 24 schools have requested reviews for unsatisfactory results across 20 subject areas for CSEC and six schools submitted requests for review of unsatisfactory results in seven subject areas for CAPE.
“Regarding the unsatisfactory results for both CSEC and CAPE, the Caribbean Examinations Council has undertaken to provide an update at the earliest possible time,” the statement said, further adding that: “The MoE is aware that individual students have approached CXC to review grades in a number of subject areas at both the CSEC and CAPE levels. The Ministry of Education is of the view that these requests by students should be addressed expeditiously.”

The MoE would have had cause to engage CXC to review the ‘ungraded’ and unsatisfactory results, after receiving several complaints regarding the grades that were awarded to students following the CXC September 22 release of the results for their 2020 examinations.
Guyana is one of several nations across the Caribbean region, which has registered complaints with the Council over the results issued to students, claiming mass discrepancies such as a high number of ungraded results and alleged unjustified lower than expected grades.

Aside from Guyana, countries including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia and Grenada have also complained. The complainants believe that the discrepancies are due to the Council administering a modified version in 2020 of its customary annual examinations.
For 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council delayed its customary May/June examinations until July/August and modified the CSEC and CAPE to exclude the regular Paper Two component.

Customarily, students are scored in the examinations, based on their performance in a multiple-choice Paper One, the Paper Two, and pre-exam School-Based Assessments (SBAs) or internal assessments. Each component accounts for a separate percentage of the student’s overall score.
The students and their supporters have called on the Council to explain how the percentage was redistributed this year, given the omission of Paper Two, and what the weighting and scoring methods for this year’s examinations were.

The Council faced widespread backlash and repeated calls for a widespread investigation into the administering of the 2020 exams.

INDEPENDENT TEAM
On Monday,  CXC Chairman, Professor, Sir Hilary Beckles, issued a statement announcing that an independent team will be engaged to review its 2020 examinations with possible revisions to follow.

On Friday, Professor Beckles convened the team which also includes retired UWI Pro Vice Chancellor, Planning and Development, Professor Andrew Downes; President of the University of Curacao, Professor Francis De Lanoy; Trinidad and Tobago retired Chief Education Officer, Harrilal Seecharan; and Antigua and Barbuda Minister of Education and Chair of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), Michael Browne.

The team is tasked with reviewing the modified approach used in the administering of the July/August 2020 CSEC and CAPE examinations; the moderation process applied to the School-Based Assessment (SBA) for these examinations; and the grading process used for the examinations, among other related matters.