As we continue to our focus on School Based Assessment (SBA), this month we look at the results of an SBA best practice study conducted in 2008.

A 2008 study commissioned by CXC entitled “The SBA Component of the Caribbean Examinations Council CSEC Examination: Examples of Best Practice in the Caribbean Region revealed that while there are some challenges with SBAs, schools in the region are achieving excellent results in SBAs.

The report revealed that schools with a positive culture ensured that SBA is programmed into the curriculum, so it is not viewed as something additional in the syllabus.

Comments provided by principals on the links between the curriculum in Spanish and the Spanish SBA, highlighted that in the schools surveyed “there are positive and obvious attempts to embed the SBA competencies in the schools’ curriculum.”

Additionally, responses from the three departmental heads in the schools surveyed, emphasized the importance of ensuring that the SBA is fully integrated in the schools’ Spanish curriculum.”

Based on feedback from teachers, CXC has reduced the number of SBAs required for particular subjects. This has reduced the workload on both students and teachers without compromising the quality of the assessment. The focus has been on developing the particular skill which is not readily testable in the written paper rather than the quantity of pieces of SBA work required.