 EXAMINATIONS ADMINISTRATION AND SECURITY DIVISION
OVERVIEW:
The year 2015 was one in which the Division continued the change process, introducing new processes while rationalizing others, as required.
In February 2015, the Division managed the e-marking of all 22 CSEC papers (13 subjects) which were offered in the January examinations. This number was increased to 37 for CAPE and 30 papers for CSEC in the May-June examinations.
See Table indicating growth in the number of papers which have been e-marked since January 2013:
This year, markers, supervisors and staff received further training in the use of the relevant online technologies. Training for markers and marking supervisors was conducted using face-to-face modalities, as well as a collection of in-house produced, “Teach-Yourself” videos. Staff training was provided by RM Education, the suppliers of the online marking tool, as well as through in-house training sessions. It is anticipated that more training will be done before the end of 2015 as the intention is to have a highly competent cadre of personnel in all areas within the e-marling domain, going into 2016.
While online marking was not without challenges, significant learning and improvements were made between the January and July marking periods. The Division also assumed a wider area of responsibility for the online marking process.
The year 2015 also saw the expansion of our quality assurance processes with the introduction of on-site moderation. In keeping with the earlier SUBSEC decision which was ratified by Council in December 2011, CSEC natural science labs and course work in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, as well as CAPE Physical Education and Sport, benefited from on-site moderation. Prior training was previously provided for on-site moderators.
The Division continued to offer its regular suite of programmes which included Registration, Administration of Examinations, Marking Management, and Issue of Results.
Registration data for our main suite of examinations is captured in the table below:
This shows that while there was a decline in our flagship CSEC programme, other programmes, CAPE, CCSLC and CVQ, experienced moderate growth. In regard to the CAPE examinations, we are pleased to note that some the new generation subjects (namely, Agricultural Science, Entrepreneurship, Tourism), which have tended to be oriented towards empowering and preparing candidates for the world of business development and the creation of their own job opportunities, had significant participation in their first year of being made available.
Our two major periods of examinations and marking were abuzz with activity. Again, to manage the flow of secure and semi-secure examination material, the Division had to call on the assistance of external personnel. A cadre of well trained personnel assisted with the very heavily labour-intensive processes of receipting and logging incoming MC scripts and SBAs; routing these to moderators or a panel of examiners; preparing for standardization and moving some 3,000 markers around the Caribbean to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados where residential marking was carried out.
Past candidates continued to take advantage of the facility for certifying statements of performance (transcripts) to be sent to educational institutions or prospective employers. From January to September 2015, a total of approximately 1,640 transcripts were issued.
Replacement certificates were also issued on request to past candidates who lost or damaged their original certificates. A total of 777 certificates were re-issued during the January to September 2015 period.
Challenges were experienced with the credit card facility for the payment for online transcripts and certificates on CXC’s website, www.cxc.org. It is expected that when the new CXC website is launch in 2016, the credit card facility should be more efficient and user-friendly.
The projected cost of the 2015 operations of the Division was $16,978,121, but indications at the end of September 2015 are that we will have made significant savings on the budgeted amounts for both the January and May-June marking exercises.
In keeping with the organisation’s first strategic objective, the Division undertook the following processes:
UPDATING EXAMINATION MATERIALS
ORS manuals used for the 2015 sittings were revised for the 2016 examinations. A new manual was developed for the Ministry User (Local Registrar), and a combined one for SBA, Order of Merit and Practical Examinations. In addition, a booklet on FAQs and Encountered Challenges was created for users of the ORS. Minor enhancements were made to the ORS for the 2016 registration phases. The enhancements were aimed at making the ORS more user-friendly and bringing about a reduction in the number of errors committed by users.
SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT
The number of CSEC candidate entries declined in 2015 and 311,781 SBA records were expected compared with 321,909 in 2014. Of these, 292, 975 were submitted (93.97%) compared with 94.06% in 2014.
Approximately, 99,892 SBA records were expected compared with 98,825 in 2014. Of these, 95.67% were submitted compared with 95.55% in 2014.
In 2015, SBA audits, another quality assurance procedure, were undertaken in four territories - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and, Trinidad and Tobago.
Special Assessment Arrangements
In 2015, the Council continued to cater to candidates with special needs, providing modified question papers and permitting the use of assistance, such as, Word Processors, Amanuenses, Readers and Signers for the Hearing Impaired. The table below captures the range of services which were accessed by candidates sitting CPEA, CCSLC, CSEC and CAPE examinations.
The Council has noted that visually-impaired candidates are requesting Enlarged Print question papers and electronic question papers rather than Braille question papers.
The Council is in the process of developing a web-based application to permit candidates to request special assessment arrangements online at the point of registration. It is expected that this will improve the efficiency of the process and enhance the experience of the users.
Pretesting
Pretests of multiple-choice questions for CSEC® and CAPE® were conducted between 16 - 20 March. Twenty-four CAPE® Units were pre-tested on 8,009 candidates from 12 territories, while 7 CSEC subjects were pre-tested using 3,553 candidates. During the period 16 - 20 November, 2,010 candidates, in 10 territories, are expected to participate in the pre-testing of 4 CCSLC subjects.
Script Marking 2015
CAPE and CSEC ELECTRONIC MARKING (e-Marking)
CXC continued implementation of its new e-Marking model with the January and June 2015 sittings being the second and third marking sessions, respectively, using the RM Assessor e-Marking tool.
All thirteen syllabuses offered for the January 2015 sitting, comprising 22 paper components, 41,618 scripts and 1,057,910 images were e-Marked by a total of 616 participants during the period 26 January to 17 February 2015.
For the May-June 2015 administration, a total of 18 CSEC subjects comprising 30 components, and 11 CAPE subjects comprising 37 components, were e-Marked by a total of 3,577 CSEC and 465 CAPE markers during the period 19 June to 31 July 2015. The total script count was 510,837 scripts comprising 13,935,948 images. CAPE was e-Marked for the first time in June 2015.
CAPE AND CSEC RESIDENTIAL MARKING
In July 2015, CXC conducted residential marking at two centres in Barbados with 239 marking personnel, two centres in Jamaica with 719 marking personnel, and two centres in Trinidad and Tobago with 346 marking personnel.
CCSLC® 2015 SITTING
The total candidate entry for the CCSLC 2015 sitting was 5,648, a three per cent increase over the 2014 figure of 5,508. The candidate population was spread over 14 CXC participating countries, with Trinidad and Tobago registering candidates for the first time since the CCSLC programme was offered in 2007.
SECURITY OF EXAMINATIONS
 Maintaining the security of the Council’s examinations remains a priority. In 2015, CXC undertook centre inspection exercises in the three territories where challenges have been greatest in the past: Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. To aid in the improvement in the administration of examinations, feedback was provided to the Local Registrars.
After visits were made to Belize, CXC made recommendations in 2013 for improvement at the remote depots used for the storage of the Council’s question papers. A follow-up visit was made in April 2015 to evaluate the changes made at the remote depots. The findings show that changes were made to bring all nine remote depots up to the Council’s required standard.
In conclusion, the year 2015 saw challenges, and noteworthy changes, and the Division made significant contribution to the attainment of the organizations goals and objectives.
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