Tennyson Joseph, UWI lecturer and political scientist shared a personal experience in his recent weekly column. While it is a personal experience, it scrutinises and exposes decision making at the highest level by education planners in the region. We must do better if we are to compete on the world stage, especially being able to cover-off rudimentary decisions.
See article reproduced from Nationnews.com.
Another CXC mis-step
I WRITE IN MY capacity as a concerned and frustrated parent, in response to an incident which occurred during the conduct of the CSEC English B (English Literature) multiple choice exam on Friday May 27, 2022.
Originally intended to be a two-hour exam (from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m), my daughter exited the exam room at 5:30 p.m., with other students having streamed out a few minutes before, this is on a day when they had already had a morning paper from 9 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Essentially, therefore, the affected students were kept under examinations conditions for seven hours.
What was the issue? It appears that a decision was taken to conduct all CXC multiple-choice examinations online without ensuring that the necessary IT infrastructure to support such examinations was in place. Given that English B is compulsory for all students at my daughter’s school, the demand overload proved overwhelming, and many students had to sit for hours waiting, without success, for the exam App to open. Some were successful at various periods after the start, while others’ systems crashed mid-exam.
My daughter was one of the unfortunate ones whose apps failed to open, and she reported to me that after two hours of waiting, and going through a range of negative emotions, a decision was taken to allow the examination to be done in the old fashioned, but reliable way.
My aim is not to question the judgement of the onsite invigilators and decision-makers. What is concerning is the poor judgment of CXC decision makers, who, by insisting on online multiplechoice examinations, appear to be operating on the assumption that “man is made for technology rather than technology made for man”.
Two issues are of concern here. The first is that, after the loud public outcry and loss of goodwill experienced by CXC over the conduct of examinations during the 2019 COVID period, that CXC did not consider it prudent to put a pause on all “experimentation” to allow for a period of cooling off period and a return to normalcy.
Secondly, given the importance of assessments as measurements of student quality and as a determinant of life chances, great care should be taken to ensure that there is nothing intrinsic to an examination environment that can negatively affect student performance. CXC ought to have assured itself of near 100 per cent success prior to utilising new technology in examinations.
CXC is too important to allow these constant hints of weakness. It should be airtight and the least problematic of our institutions. My recommendation to CXC is that it should perfect the basic aspects of its mandate, before venturing off into new territory, especially at a time when the stench of recent failures still pollute the atmosphere. For the sake of our children and the educational “ecosystem”, let us get it right.
Let me make myself clearER! My recent comment was calling for patience with average Bajans, commonly known on this site as “BRASS BOWLS”. I suggested that THE PEOPLE need time and patient coaching to come into the fulness of their identity as the descendants of Africans. They need time and coaching to put away their fake and forced “Little Englandness” and retrieve their fighting spirit.
I would expect those who rise to political leadership to be smart enough to have long rid themselves of the eurocentric folly as I did while still a child watching Saturday morning cowboy and “indian” movies. They should be ready to govern FOR THEIR PEOPLE, recognising that they will remain NOBODIES and JOKES on the worldstage, mere puppets to be played with until they access the true power that comes with fighting “righteous” causes for the right reasons.
THAT is the way to earn the respect of those who would write you off as insignificant.
Now, go back and see that my comment was in response to somebody berating the Bajan people for not responding forcefully enough to being ripped off!
Or…continue to get your jollies by calling me whatever pleases you today.
I, however, will be engaged in more pleasant pursuits.
TheO,
The last thing we need if for us to stop voting and youall to start.
If we don’t vote there is a chance, however slight, that the duopoly will get the message and will realise that “dum en mek dumselves”.
Why would we want overseas voters to cloud that message?
Correction – “is” not “if”.
Baje,
What I meant was that not everybody is strong enough to do what you have done. Some just go with the flow or follow the leader.
In The Ghetto, Sugar Minott, Zion Land, Calabash & Fourth Generation Band
Bullwackie’s All Stars
KEEP ON RUNNING ⬥Major Irie & Wackies Rhythm Force⬥
WHAT A REAL ASS IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING RESEARCH IT BEFORE SHOWING YOUR SILLY ASS
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ghetto
noun
a part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.
#############
Let me try to understand something here.
Black people is who live in the slums and them is the MAJORITY GROUP bout here.
So what is it that you really trying to say? You like you is the real ass here yuh, because it look like you ain’t really apply commonsense to this thing.
Source: Nation
Read this story and weep.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/06/10/cxc-students-get-reprieve-from-online-testing-at-some-schools/
Why was there this haste to start ….
Looks like this year’s CXC battle will start shortly. Hopefully, I am allowed to comment on this year’s battle.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/01/advocacy-group-anxiously-awaits-cxc-results/
Let’s get ready to rumble
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/04/cxc-to-release-exam-results-on-monday/
https://youtu.be/I6eQ78HCGEA
I just realized that the title here is “time to get it right”.
All across the landscapes folks are demanding “Get it right”.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/06/cxc-boss-urges-stakeholders-to-end-confrontation-as-exams-move-toward-normalcy/
Seems as if at first we will get a trickle
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/07/advocates-propose-cxc-changes/
Will the dam burst?
I seem to recall that we call a diabetic sore that does not heal a ‘life sore”
A Caribbean life sore (CXC)
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/11/18/unresolved-cxc-concerns-remain/
I continue to struggle to understand CXC.
From BT
https://barbadostoday.bb/2023/02/10/cxc-to-increase-options-for-students/
“The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is seeking to reduce the numbers of students leaving secondary school without any certification.”
This is an admirable stance, but how does an examination council ‘increase’ the number of subject leaving school with a certification?
Does this fall within the purview of the CXC or should this be the goal of the various Ministry of Education.
CXC needs to maintain/increase the quality of its product.
subject leaving=children leaving