History

History

Milestones

 

1970 - 19801981 - 19901991 - 20002001 - 20102011 - Present
  • The Agreement Establishing the Council is signed in Barbados by the governments of 15 English-speaking Caribbean territories (1972)
  • The signing of the Supplementary Agreement in 1973 creates an Administrative and Operational Centre (AOC) in Jamaica called the Western Zone Office (1973)
  • The Council holds its first meeting under the Chairmanship of Dr (later Sir) Roy Marshall, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies in Barbados (1973)
  • The Western Zone Office becomes operational (1974)
  • Council decides to conduct the first examinations in 1979 in Mathematics, English, Caribbean History, Integrated Science and Geography (1975)
  • The term Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate(CSEC®) approved for the Council’s certificate (1976)
  • The School Examinations Committee (SEC) approves syllabuses for Geography, History, Mathematics, English and Integrated Science (1976)
  • May/June, the Council conducts its inaugural examinations for CSEC® in English, Geography, History and Mathematics at General and Basic Proficiencies and Integrated Science as a pilot subject (1979)
  • Thirteen of the fourteen Participating Territories present candidates for the first examinations.
  • Thirty thousand, two hundred and seventy-six (30, 276) candidates entered (1979)
  • Fifty-eight thousand, seven hundred and eight (58,708) subject entries are received for the first examination (1979)
  • July 16, 1979 first marking exercise is started in Barbados and Jamaica with 337 markers involved (1979)
  • CXC® processes Common Entrance results for Grenada and St Lucia (1979)
  • CXC® introduces regulations to accommodate re-sit candidates for subjects with SBAs (1980)
  • Grades I and II are recognised as equivalent to GCE O’Level A, B and C grades by the University of the West Indies, the University of Guyana, the Joint Matriculation Board of the UK and admissions offices in the United States and Canada 1980)
  • Six new subjects, Agricultural Science, Office Procedures, Principles of Business (POB), Principles of Accounts (POA), Spanish and Typewriting are added to the examination subject offerings
  • Trinidad and Tobago becomes the third marking centre (1981)
  • CXC® adds two subjects, English B and Social Studies to the offerings bringing the total number of subjects to 13 (1981)
  • Preliminary Results Slips are issued for the first time (1981)
  • Sub-Committee of the School Examinations Committee (SUBSEC) approves Syllabuses for French and Shorthand (1981)
  • CXC® accepts private candidates to write the examinations for the first time (1982)
  • Home Economics and Industrial Arts are added to the CXC® subject offerings (1982)
  • A total of 53,758 candidates write the examinations and 169,504 subject entries are received (1982)
  • Trinidad and Tobago makes Caribbean History a compulsory subject for all candidates (1983)
  • French is offered for the first time and attracts 373 candidates (1983)
  • Regional Top Awards for outstanding performance in CSEC® are introduced (1988)
  • A January sitting of the examinations is introduced (1989)

 

  • Candidate entries pass the one hundred thousand milestone (109,633) (1997)
  • The CSEC® Grading Scheme is changed from a five-point scale to a 6-point scale (1998)
  • The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE)® is offered for the first time (1998)
  • The University of the West Indies partners with CXC® to offer a scholarship for CSEC® Regional Top Awardees (2001)
  • CSEC® and CAPE® timetables and results are disseminated via the CXC® website (2001)
  • CSEC® Visual Arts Exhibition is introduced and hosted in Barbados and Jamaica (2003)
  • Introduction of CSEC® Theatre Arts (2003)
  • Development of self-study guides (2003)
  • Registration of trademarks in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Kingdom (2004)
  • Approval of the CXC® Associate Degree (2004)
  • CSEC® subject entries pass the half-million mark (528,289) (2006)
  • CAPE® Regional Top Awards are presented for the first time (2006)
  • The Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC)® is introduced (2007)
  • The Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ)® is first introduced by CXC® (2008)
  • 30th anniversary of CSEC® examinations (2009)
  • Signing of five (5) articulation agreements with universities in the USA for CAPE® and the CXC® Associate Degree (2009)
  • Launch of CXC®’s first Facebook presence (2009)
  • Utilization of a charter airline to transport marking personnel across regional marking centres (2009)
  • Launch of CXC®’s markers portal (2010)
  • Inaugural meeting of the TVEC Policy Committee (2010)
  • New syllabus for CAPE® Additional Mathematics approved (2010)
  • Amendment to Religious Education syllabus to include the options of Hinduism, Judaism and Islam (2010)
  • A CXC® presence is established on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and U-Stream (2010)
  • Launch of CCSLC® texts via U-Stream television (2011)
  • Ground breaking of plot for New Headquarters location (2011)
  • Hosting of first CXC® live webinar (2011)
  • Online delivery of examination results to candidates (2011)
  • CSEC® Additional Mathematics offered for the first time (2012)
  • Grading process administered electronically for all subject offerings except English and Mathematics (2012)
  • International benchmarking initiative. Development of a roadmap in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) (2012)
  • New syllabuses are approved for development by SubSEC in Agricultural Science, Entrepreneurship, Performing Arts and Tourism (2012)
  • CAPE® Digital Media is launched in Antigua & Barbuda (2012)
  • Launch of Second Chance Education Programme targeting “at risk” youth and “out-of-school” population (2013)
  • CXC® 40th anniversary highlights 40 years of operations (2013)
  • Professor Patrick Bryan is commissioned to write a book “The History of CXC®” (2013)
  • CXC® Annual Report publications are published as an interactive DVD (2013)
  • Several programmes are rolled out on CMC’s CaribVision channel as part of a regional sensitization and awareness campaign on CXC® and its products and services (2013)
  • The CXC® e-Certificate ‘pre-pilot’ Programme.
  • Launch of the CXC® Learning Hub
  • Launch of the 2021 – 2025 CXC® Strategic Plan
  • Approval of the CAPE® Biotechnology syllabus at 2020 Council