Performance of Students on the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary level Competence (CCSLC)
~~Adz:Left~~Basseterre, St. Kitts- During the last academic year, institutions in St. Kitts and Nevis engaged for the first time in a full administration of the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). To obtain the CCSLC from CXC, students must pass Mathematics and English examinations set by CXC and obtain passes in at least three other subject areas from among various other subject groupings, including technical – vocational and business studies subjects, as well as, visual and performing arts.
Under the CCSLC, a student’s final mark in CXC – moderated subjects consists of a school mark from continuous assessment and a mark awarded by CXC on the final examination. Students are regarded as having passed when they are rated as either “Competent” or “Master” in the subject competences that have been tested. Otherwise they are rated as “Developing Competence”. Candidates have three years to complete the requirements of the CCSLC. CXC awards transcripts to candidates for each subject that they have successfully completed.
In our secondary schools, students may begin taking the CCSLC in selected subjects from the end of Third Form and can complete all the requirements by the end of Form Five, or may even complete after they leave secondary school.
In June 2008, there were 1592 subject entries in St. Kitts and Nevis, of which 1105 returned grades of either “Master” or “Competent”, given an overall pass rate of 69.4 %.
The average pass rates among the government secondary schools were as follows:
Basseterre High School: 42%
Cayon High School: 74%
Charlestown Secondary School: 71%
Gingerland Secondary School: 27%
Sandy Point High School: 78%
Verchilds High School: 62%
Washington Archibald High School: 86%
Special mention is made of the performance of students at AVEC where there were 47 subject entries in Mathematics and English, and all returned passing grades, thereby registering a 100% pass rate. Sincere congratulations are hereby extended to the students and Mathematics and English instructors, as well as, the administration at AVEC.
The Ministry of Education extends congratulations to all the teachers and the students in all institutions who demonstrated mastery and/ or competence in the various subjects for the CCSLC. We encourage successful students to continue working to attain the remaining subjects to acquire the full CCSLC certificate.
Special congratulations are particularly afforded to the administration and teachers in those secondary schools that returned high pass rates on the CCSLC, particularly those with pass rates of over 70%. Given that the continuous assessment component of the CCSLC is extremely critical to students’ final grade, a high level of motivation and commitment is needed on the part of teachers to assist and encourage students to do the assessments to enable them to demonstrate competence and mastery in the various subjects before they take the final examinations set by CXC. The teachers who worked with the successful students must therefore be highly commended.
The Ministry of Education is nevertheless concerned about the number of absences registered in some schools. This may be a reflection on the value that some students, their parents and some teachers attach to the CCSLC. In due course, the CCSLC will emerge as an examination that all students in the secondary schools must take and will form the basis for a National Secondary School Certificate. Programmes at AVEC and the Adult and Continuing Education Division at the CFB College will soon be harmonized to assist school leavers and adults in successfully meeting the requirements to obtain the CCSLC.
The Ministry therefore urges students, parents and teachers to afford the necessary attention and dedication that are required to ensure success in the CCSLC. This programme is designed to ensure that potentially all students leave the secondary schools with entry - level knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required for the work place, as well as, attitudes and values required to make school leavers more rounded and productive citizens. Additionally, for some students, good performance on the CCSLC will serve as an indicator of their potential for successfully pursuing studies at the CSEC Technical and General Proficiency levels.
