#BTEditorial- CXC’s greatest test: compassion and fairness

In just over another month, Caribbean students are set to face the Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) battery of tests to determine just how well they have learned in a wide variety of subjects.

But while most students are just settling back down to face-toface classes in varying formats after receiving online instruction at home for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are yet again loud calls from Caribbean teachers, students and parent advocates for the regional examining body to delay the exams.

They deserve a listening ear.

Two weeks ago, the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) pleaded with the CXC to delay the May sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) by at least three weeks.
CUT President Garth Anderson argued that the May 2 start date is unreasonable as COVID-19 had caused disruption in the education system and that it cannot be business as usual.

He said: “CXC seems to think that normality has returned to the region and to the lives of our students and other citizens. The reality on the ground is this is not so. Several of our schools are still struggling to reopen, still trying to treat with the learning deficit that would have been created with two years of students on online teaching and education, which we all know has several challenges.”

He implored the examination body to re-institute the concessions that were made last year and make adjustments to the School-Based Assessments (SBA) and provide students a list of topics that will be covered on each exam.

Here at home, President of the Barbados Secondary of Teachers Union Mary Redman echoed the call for the postponement of this year’s sitting to allow students to adequately prepare themselves after nearly an entire year of online instruction.

She said: “The BSTU in our meetings would have asked the CXC to consider having exams later in the year, not starting in May. We know that later exams would mean later results and that is a consequence of the later exam time. But certainly, it allows children to have better preparation and grounding in the subjects… and that also prepares them for further study in those subject areas.”

Equally, the strong voice of Paula Anne-Moore, the parent advocate spokesperson/coordinator for the Group of Concerned Parents, Barbados and the Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress has insisted that the interests and well-being of the students must come first.

“This is the third academic year that the pandemic has [disrupted] education and learning,” Moore declared. “I am deeply disappointed, very, very disappointed…from CARICOM, the COHSOD arm of CARICOM, our governments in the region, and yes, our parent bodies. I think all of us are accountable for the fact that we have not advocated more forcefully to hold CXC accountable, and have CXC modify their examination to be more fair.”

We are aware that our Ministry of Education, according to Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Bradshaw-Archer, has been engaging CXC on this matter raised by our educators. We anxiously await the outcome of those talks.

Certainly, CXC should consult with its stakeholders and seriously consider the plight of thousands of students here and around this region. But the experience of the last two years, especially the 2020 exam debacle which sparked a loud outcry, does not offer much faith in CXC’s approach.

We do take note that In 2021, CXC did administer its exams with a few concessions. It provided the topics for the long answer paper (Paper 2) five weeks before the sitting. It reduced the requirements for the SBAs and extended submission dates for some subjects. It also facilitated deferments to 2022 if students meet specific criteria.

But it is now time CXC offers more. We can see no justifiable reason for CXC to not seriously consider delaying the exam period if that will benefit the region’s children.

Certainly, the educators at CXC are more aware than most that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in stark learning deficits for students. Students and teachers have barely had enough time to complete the work required for full exam preparations.

It seems only fair that CXC pause and consider the bigger picture.

We believe the examining body has the interests of our children at heart. The administration of exams must therefore consider the impact of the prolonged school closure due to the pandemic and offer students a better alternative.