BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,March 05th, 2012  –  Officials from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) set the record straight on Monday during a one-day seminar for journalists that they have never given distinctions to students who successfully complete the exams at Grade One level.

This statement was met by incredulity by all of the journalists who said year after year the reports coming to their media houses from their local ministry of education is that selected students have received the highest possible grade also called “distinctions” in particular subjects. Students sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) can receive a grading from one to six, with a grade one showing they have a comprehensive grasp of concepts, knowledge, skills and competencies in the subject area.

The council hosted more than 20 journalists from Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) on Monday, March 5, and a seminar for guidance counselors on Tuesday March 6.

Nerissa Golden, Director of Information & Communications for the Government of Montserrat and Bennette Roach, Editor-In-Chief of The Montserrat Reporter attended the journalism seminar.  Dr. V. Clarice Barnes, School psychologist and Mrs. Donnette Allen guidance counselor for the primary schools attended the Tuesday sessions.

Cleveland Sam, the Assistant Registrar responsible for Public Administration said the term “distinction” is a left over from the “old awarding committees that handled Cambridge. There is no such thing as a Grade 1 Distinction. It never existed within CXC.”

“In the region we have a very elitist society and it was their way of saying their child was a cut above the others who also got a Grade one,” says Sharon Giles, Head of Examination Administration Security (EAS). “We have never spoken about distinctions and historically it is not found on certificates.”

The goal of the seminar was to provide journalists around the region with information on CXC’s products and services to enable them to better report on stories related to the council and its examinations.

“Every household in the Caribbean is affected by CXC in one way or the other and the high-stakes nature of examinations requires that CXC communicate with the regional populace via the media,” explained Dr. Didacus Jules, Registrar of CXC. “Journalists and the media are therefore critical stakeholders to CXC in getting our messages accurately to the region.”

The officials also called for parents to play a more active role in the education life of their children so they can have a clearer understanding of the process and how to support them as they prepare for these critical examinations.

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