THE VALLEY, Anguilla – THE Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has officially launched the Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate (CTEC), following strong results from its pilot programme in mathematics.
The announcement came during CXC’s official 2026 examination results ceremony in Anguilla, where the regional examinations body outlined a new approach to assessment aimed at helping students succeed while maintaining the same rigorous academic standards.
Dr Wayne Wesley, Registrar of CXC, said the initiative is intended to address the longstanding underperformance of students in subjects such as mathematics and provide learners with a more flexible pathway to certification.
The institution has served as the region’s examinations and certification body, providing qualifications that are recognised throughout the Caribbean and internationally.
Wesley said the establishment of the regional examinations system represented a declaration of “intellectual sovereignty and cultural identity,” allowing the Caribbean to set its own world-class standards.
A CSEC or CAPE qualification earned in one Caribbean territory, he noted, is recognised throughout the region and internationally.
“It is a portable and trusted credential and the engine of individual advancement and foundation for regional development,” the official said.
But while CXC has maintained its regional and international standing, the organisation continues to face the challenge of helping students who struggle with traditional examination formats.
The official pointed specifically to mathematics, saying only about one-third of candidates typically achieve acceptable grades in the subject.
“Behind that statistic are hundreds of thousands of young people who sat in our classrooms for five years and walked away with nothing in hand to show for what they did learn,” the official said.
“Not because they learned nothing, but because our instrument of assessment was an all or nothing event. One subject, one sitting, one verdict.”
CXC introduced CTEC to change that approach.
The programme was first announced about 16 months ago as a pilot initiative targeting persistent underperformance in selected subjects, particularly mathematics.
Following the successful pilot, CXC's Board of Governors approved the official launch of CTEC.
Under the new system, students follow the same syllabus and are assessed against the same rigorous standards, but subjects are divided into focused modules that students can master, complete and be certified in step by step.
“CTEC is fit, focused, individualised learning,” the official said.
The modular approach also means that students who are forced to interrupt their education can leave with evidence of the competencies they have already achieved, rather than having no formal recognition of their progress.
“They have the ability now, or they will leave with evidence of the competence and an open door back into the system to continue and to complete their education,” the official said.
“At CXC, we hold to the position that competence is competence, no matter how long it takes to achieve, and no matter the route by which it comes.”
CXC said the new approach is also designed to reflect how today's students learn, particularly as technology continues to reshape education.
“Our Gen Z learners and our Generation Alpha behind them live in a world of on-demand learning,” the official said.
“They master complex skills in structured stages every day on their own screens and on their own schedules.”
The mathematics pilot attracted more than 2,500 candidates from 15 territories and 42 centres across the Caribbean.
In the May-June 2026 session, 2,535 candidates sat the CTEC Mathematics Module 1 examination.
CXC reported that 88 percent of those candidates achieved acceptable grades, while only one candidate received the lowest grade.
The results represent a significant improvement compared with the traditional mathematics examination, where CXC said only about one in three candidates typically achieves an acceptable grade.
“Measured against a generation in which barely one in three candidates succeed in a typical sitting, this achievement represents a remarkable turnaround,” the official said.
CXC stressed, however, that passing one module does not amount to completing the entire subject.
“Let me be clear, a module is not a whole subject. The full qualification still requires completion of every module at the full standard,” the official said.
The organisation believes the pilot has demonstrated that students can perform better when learning is assessed in smaller, achievable stages.
“When learning is assessed in focused, achievable stages, our students do more than cope. They excel,” the official said.
“They engage, persist, and succeed.”
CXC said the competencies assessed through CTEC Mathematics Module 1 are already embedded in the CSEC Mathematics examination taken by tens of thousands of students this year.
The regional examinations body says the results of the pilot provide strong evidence that modular assessment can help more Caribbean students remain engaged in education, demonstrate their abilities and work progressively towards full certification.
