Legal Status

The Council was established in 1972, under Agreement by the Participating Governments in the English-speaking Caribbean to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate and award certificates and diplomas on the results of any such examinations so conducted. The Council is empowered to regulate the conduct of any such examinations and prescribe the qualification requirements of candidates and the fees payable by them.

Membership

The Council comprises the following members:

(a) The Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies;
(b) The Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana;
(c) (i) Three representatives of The University of the West Indies appointed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, regard being given to the geographic dispersion of the campuses;
(ii) One representative of the University of Guyana appointed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana;
(d) (i) Two representatives appointed by each of the Participating Governments of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago and one representative appointed by each of the other Participating Governments;
(ii) One representative of the teaching profession appointed by each National Committee from among its members.

The Participating Countries are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Committees of the Council

The Council has two main committees which help in carrying out its work in between the annual Council meetings. The Administrative and Finance Committee (AFC) meets twice yearly and deals with administrative, financial and human resource matters. The Sub-Committee of the School Examinations Committee (SUBSEC) also meets twice a year and deals with technical and examination issues.

The School Examinations Committee also meets once per year, normally the day before Council. The SEC is responsible for the following: preparing regulations relating to the conduct of examinations, developing syllabuses through sub-committees and subject panels, receiving and reviewing the reports of examiners, appointing various sub-committees and subject panels, and advising the Council on matters relating to examinations.

In addition, there is the Final Awards Committee (FAC), which meets after each examination sitting. The duties of the FAC include: Determines the award of grades (on recommendation of the Subject Awards Committee), approves the issue of certificates, diplomas and associate degrees, and adjudicates in cases of irregularity and misconduct by candidates in the examinations.

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) also meets after each examinations sitting and reports to the Final Awards Committee. TAC is responsible for ensuring that the Subject Awards Committees follow specified standards for awarding grades, promote consistency, accuracy and fairness in the scores awarded for all examinations, assure the maintenance of standards in all stages of the examining process, including paper setting, examinations administration, and marking, and assure the consistency of grade standards across years, subjects and examination sittings.

Subject Panels

Subject panels are appointed by the School Examinations Committee (SEC) to advise it on all matters concerning CXC subject offerings. The panels are responsible for preparing syllabuses and recommending methods of testing. The panels also consider comments and suggestions on the syllabuses and examinations and recommends to SUBSEC desirable syllabus and examination modifications in the light of those comments.

Subject panels normally consist of six members of the education profession, drawn from Participating Countries, but persons can be co-opted for special meetings. At least three members of the panel must be practising teachers of the subject.

Subject panels have continuing responsibility for reviewing the syllabuses and ensuring that the Council is kept abreast of the developments in curricula throughout the region. Panels also nominate persons from among whom SUBSEC selects members of the Examining Committees.

Examining Committees

The members of the Examining Committees are responsible for the main work of examining, including setting question papers, preparing mark schemes, supervising the marking by Examiners and Assistant Examiners after the examinations have been written.

An Examining Committee consists of a Chief Examiner and Assistant Chief Examiners. The Committee’s main task is the setting of question papers - a task requiring both care and expertise and demanding rigorous security at all stages. Staff members of the Measurement and Evaluation Division assist the committees.

National Committees

A National Committee is established by each Participating Government in its territory and comprises representatives of a Ministry or Department of Education, the teaching profession, the universities in the area and the general community.

The Chairperson of a National Committee is normally appointed by the Participating Government from among the members of that National Committee.

Administrative and Operational Centres

For operational purposes, the region is divided into two geographical areas - the Eastern Zone and the Western Zone. Administrative and Operational Centres (AOCs), one for each zone, have been established in Barbados and Jamaica respectively.

The Council’s Chief Executive Officer, the Registrar, is located at the Council’s Headquarters. The office in Jamaica has operational responsibility for the Western Zone. The Pro-Registrar who is in charge of this centre exercises functions delegated to the Western Zone Office in matters relating to all National Committees, the School Examinations Committee and its Sub-Committee (SUBSEC), subject panels, and syllabus formulation and review.