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Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 15, 2019 (SKNIS): During a press conference held at the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) on August 15, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister responsible for Education, the Honourable Shawn Richards, gave an overview of St. Kitts and Nevis’ May-June 2019 CXC Examination Performance Preliminary Results.

With regards to the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Results, the deputy prime minister stated that within the federation 1661 candidates wrote 5339 subjects. Of that amount, 354 candidates sat exams in Nevis and 1307 candidates wrote exams in St Kitts of which 752 were school candidates and 909 where private.

“Of the 5339 subject entries, 4271 were school candidates and 1068 from private. Acceptable grades returned, that is, one to three were 4291. Of that amount, schools returned 3565 and 726 for private for a national pass rate based on the preliminary results for CSEC 2019 of 80.37 percent,” said the deputy prime minister.  

He stated that 21 of the 32 subjects returned acceptable grades of 81percent or higher with 14 of those subjects returning acceptable grades of 92 to 100 percent.

It was noted that 2018 saw the introduction of the School-Based Assessment (SBA) component for the first time in English A, English B (Literature) and Mathematics. 

In terms of acceptable grades returned in Mathematics nationally, there were 401 subject passes out of 805 entries (51.06 percent).  English A returned acceptable grades of 637 out of 757 entries for a national pass rate of acceptable grades for 85.92 percent.  Returns in schools showed further improvement in English with 481 acceptable grades out of 553 for 86.98 percent compared to 2018’s 80.40%. 

The deputy prime minister noted that there has been a significant decline in Mathematics which returned 216 acceptable grades out of 434 for 49.77 percent compared to 65.40 percent last year.  Private candidates returned acceptable grades of 76.47 percent for English A and 53.42 percent for Mathematics.

Deputy Prime Minister Richards also gave a summary of the performance in schools and private centers.

Acceptable grades returned includes Basseterre High School, 516 out of 611; Cayon High School, 362 out of 421; Charles E Mills Secondary School, 450 out of 498; Charlestown Secondary School,  466 out of 561; Gingerland Secondary School,  295 out of 333; Immaculate Conception Catholic School, 146 out of 175; Nevis International Secondary School, 44 out of 53; Saddlers  Secondary School, 210 out of 251; Verchild’s High School,  329 out of 435; Washington Archibald High School,  747 out of 933; St. Kitts private returned 472 out of 707; New Horizons Rehabilitation Centre 3 out of 3; Nevis private returned 192 out of 269; Her Majesty’s prison  8 out of 12 and CFBC Adult and Continuing Education,  51 out of 77.
As for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), the deputy prime minister reported that 496 candidates sat 1944 subjects. Of that amount, 145 wrote exams in Nevis and 351 in St Kitts of which 461 were college candidates and 35 were private. Of the 1944 subject entries, 1840 were students in colleges and the remaining 104 subject entries from private candidates. 

Acceptable grades Returned, that is, grades 1 to 5, were 1652.  Of that amount, colleges returned 1568 and 84 from private candidates. The national pass rate based on the preliminary results of CAPE is 84.98%.

Of the 50 CAPE units attempted, 22 units returned acceptable grades of 100% with an additional 18 units returning acceptable grades between 82 to 99%.  The general education courses returned acceptable grades as follows:  Caribbean Studies, 204 out of 205 (99.57%); Communication Studies, 215 out of 248 (88.48%); and Integrated Mathematics with 138 out of 237 (58.23%). 

Deputy Prime Minister Richards also gave a summary of the performance in colleges and private centers. Acceptable grades returned include Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College Arts, Sciences and General Studies Division, 1069 out of 1257; Nevis Sixth Form College, 499 out of 583; CFBC Adult and Continuing Education Division,  67 out of 79;  Nevis private, 4 out of 6; and Her Majesty’s Prison, 13 out of 19. 

“I cannot underscore enough that the overview provided is based on preliminary results,” said Minister Richards noting that nationally they are awaiting the EDPM results, as well as the Theatre Arts for the Basseterre High School. 

“When I return to you with the detailed report after the grade review and query period, those returns will be included,” he said.

He encourage the candidates to be patient and rest assured that “these grades will be received shortly.” He noted that his ministry is also endeavoring to shift the focus from percentages and “place the focus on what it should be, which is ensuring that our nation’s youth are prepared adequately and given the opportunity to write as many subjects as possible.”