Students from five Dominican primary schools last week sat the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) to mark the end of a pilot programme which began in 2011.
Dominica will now assess the CPEA programme to determine if it will replace the Grade Six National Assessment.
One hundred and seventy candidates wrote the exams. The Roosevelt Douglas Primary School fielded 44 candidates, Massacre Primary School- 43, St. Luke’s Primary School- 36, Castle Bruce Primary School- 24 and Tete Morne Primary School- 23.
The three subject areas tested, Mathematics, Language and Science, were presented in the multiple choice format. The exams were administered under CSEC conditions by trained CSEC supervisors.
The CPEA responds to calls from regional heads for a regional primary exit examination that assesses key areas of literacy common to all primary curricula including language, mathematics, civics and science.
According to CXC, the CPEA will assist with “the quality measures in the education system and offer a common measure across schools and countries in the region.”
CXC says the new exam will also promote feedback to pupils which will improve learning and encourage greater parental participation in the education of their children. The CPEA is also aimed at helping students achieve at higher levels of education by setting foundations for a seamless transition to secondary education.
Under the CPEA, teachers would not be required to teach a new curriculum but would follow the curriculum that is already in use in Dominican schools. The CPEA would, therefore, be based on the literacies that are common in the various curricula across the region.
So far, Grenada and Anguilla have opted for the CPEA as the official exit exam for primary schools. (Ends)
Let it be understood that I am probably one in our region who is unconditionally supportive of Caribbean Unity! That said, however, I am totally at a loss as regards this move by Dominica.
In 1996, the Ministry of Education embarked on what was popularly known as BERP: Basic Education Reform Project. Among other things, it saw the training of locals in a number of fields, all at the Masters level. An outcome of BERP was the establishment of a Curriculum, Measurement and Evaluation Unit within the education ministry. These educators accomplished, among other things, the introduction of national exams at grades 2 and 4, improved the “Common Entrance” examination, and with the USE, got rid of the Junior Secondary Programme.
Analysis of candidates performance was provided to the stakeholders at an individual, class, school, district and national levels. The grade 2 and 4 exams were of a DIAGNOSTIC nature – that is, it focused on students strengths and weaknesses, and we saw significant improvement in the teaching/learning at our primary schools. Dominica, for the period under discussion, led the countries in the OECS and they came to learn from our experience.
I would really wish that some education official explain to the public why we have abandoned the work that served us so well to embark on this unclear policy/goal/decision.
What is going to become of the CME Unit??
I am in support of you too. at that level what is the rush to go to CXC. it is just going to add another burden on parents. with the move to universal secondary education, the emphasis in that area is not that demanding. Sadly at the other end of the spectrum ie the CAPE exams the government of dominica chooses to go alone. Is at cape level that the Caribbean should try to unite instead it is choosing to have its home grown college certification which is recognised by NO one, instead of rolling with the 30 plus experience of CXE and its international reputation.
Great, I think that having regional education standardization is a positive thing. This will allow us to compare students preparation in our primary schools to that of our neighbours. It will be one more tool to evaluate the education system and inform us as to the pertinent changes necessary for improvement. While we are looking at CPEA, I still do not understand what is happening with CAPE, the “advanced proficiency exam”, that has been adopted by other countries in the reigion but not us. Why?
CPEA is a cxc exam. CXC is not free. GSAT exams are prepared by the ministry of education and they are free for the grade 6 students. Government will accept the CPEA and pay for it for the grade 6 students at first and then parents will be asked to pay for the exam afterward when the government realizes that it is going to be a strain/burden on the economy. Just you wait and see. I dont know why we like to leave what we have working for us and try new things that put a strain on our pockets.. GSAT working well. leave it so . the children will do CXC at the end of the 5 yrs in high school.
@ teacher
The Minister of Education is NOT sincere in his push towards this EXPENSIVE stance. Only Barbados will benefit from it. The other perceived benefits are not substantial enough to warranty this backwards leap.
Mr. Petter is driven by petty political vindictiveness. He wants to reverse all the progress made by a previous government in this area. In particular the work of then Minister of education Mr. Ron Green whom he hates bitterly. He is so petty in his mission he has renamed a plot of land that was named after Senator Ron Green’s grandfather, who incidentally donated that playing field to the community of Laplaine.
If Petter was sincere he would have gone for the advance level CXC CAPE. In the long run nobody puts common entrance results on any job application, or curriculum vitae or college application. So going in that direction is just throwing hard earn money down the drain, trying to fix what is not broken.
so what about the parents of the children who cannot read and write. how are they going to get involved.
So would social studies be tested on a national or regional level,or not at all?
national