The atmosphere was light and expectant in the Teachers’ Resource Centre, The Valley Anguilla on Friday 12 August. The burgundy chairs were neatly arranged and the cyan blue backdrop dominated the stage. The stage was set for the official release of the May/June 2016 CXC examinations results.
The Choir of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School opened the proceedings with the National Anthem and National Song of Anguilla. After some inspiring remarks from Ms Carla Harris, Registrar of the Anguilla Community College and a member of the CXC National Committee, T’arah Niles raised the bar with a fitting poem entitled “The Real Results”.
Mr Stephen Savoury, Director of Operations made a presentation on examinations administration. In his presentation he noted that CXC is moving all of its processes to electronic platforms. Mr Savoury noted that CXC has already introduced electronic marking or e-marking and is moving towards electronic testing for multiple choice papers in January 2017.
According to Mr Savoury, the number of subject entries for the May/June 2016 sitting increased to 585,223 subject entries this year, up from 578,035 entries in 2015, however, the number of candidates declined marginally, from 132,824 candidates in 2015 to 132,674 candidates this year.
Honourable Evans McNiel Rogers, Minister with responsibility for education in Anguilla delivered the feature address. In his address, Minister Rogers lauded CXC for its work in improving education in the Caribbean. He said CXC is now a household word in the Caribbean and touches the lives of every family in the region.
Minister Rogers posits that teacher training is very important in the education sector and hence why the ministry has been spending on teacher training and development in the face of economic challenges. He said, “we recognised that if children are to excel, teachers must be excellent.”
Regrettably, most of the results reflected Anguilla’s achievement than all the territories against the overall average per subject per exam.