By Latrishka Thomas
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has reported mixed results from its 2024 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) assessments, with mathematics continuing to be a challenge for students across the region.
Nicole Manning, CXC’s Director of Operations, noted that the overall pass rate in mathematics dropped to 36 percent this year, down from 43 percent last year.
“This is a sore point for us,” she admitted.
However, Manning highlighted a silver lining, pointing out that while the overall performance in math decreased, there was a slight increase in the number of grade ones, with a one percent rise compared to last year.
She stressed the need for a collaborative approach to addressing these challenges, stating, “It’s not about CXC. It’s a teaching, learning, and assessment issue. While this is one of the areas of concern, it is something that we have to tackle together.”
Manning also noted declines in subjects such as chemistry, information technology, integrated science, and modern languages, like French.
Despite these challenges, Manning highlighted several positive outcomes. In biology, she observed “consistency with the overall performance at 76 percent, a slight increase in grade ones and twos, though there was a reduction in grade threes”.
Caribbean history saw particularly strong results, with Manning reporting “the best performance we have seen in the last four years—a four percent increase and stability at grade ones, with overall improvement across the board”.
Other subjects, including human and social biology, office administration, and physics, also showed encouraging improvements in their overall performances.
