Submitted by Ned

Minister of Education Kay McConney

think it is high time regional governments intervene in the functioning of the CXC. This email is not designed to point fingers at any particular person in management, but I think it is clear that a thorough shake up of this agency is necessary…


The word today that there has been an exam leak comes on the heels of a headline speaking to the CXC’s concern about the use of AI in the SBA process and the obvious issues this would cause for fairness and distribution of marks for this form of assessment.


But back to today’s leaked exam…I dare say another leaked exam, because I am quite sure that this has happened in the recent past. The rest of the region has accepted that a leak occurred…But the CXC’s rhetoric suggests that it needs verifying in the face of photos posted on social media and imbedded in the story by St. Vincent media and others.
I get that you need to be sure, but good God CXC speed up, act businesslike. Yes you will need to prosecute under the law and all that good stuff, but a blind man can see that you need to make changes and substantial ones..

I did CXC in 1987 and I could see then as a mere neophyte that a lot of your procedures were archane from the start. Yes you have to guard against kids and parents who want to get ahead at all costs. That is life and the remit of any exam board purporting to be the purveyors of world class exams. But what of the other side? Surely students didn’t leak today’s paper, nor those before. they were leaked from inside your veil.
Are there specific persons earmarked in every country who have sole custody of exams with a couple backups, and who must fall on their sword if exams are leaked? That is a simple solution , in lieu of new technologies such as circulation in packages with the exact numbers per centre and electronic locks programmed to release the package 30 mins before the exam.
This has to stop.

There is so much secrecy and perceived security around CXC’s processes, but a simple act of fraud can cause such a major ripple effect and then in turn affect the lives of so many.


A shake up is clearly needed!!


133 responses to “Shakeup @CXC Required”

  1. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    Theo…CXC has been around for DECADES, there has been no significant changes in population size….especially in Barbados where population growth is low to nonexistent…….implementation has gotten easier with technology and a TON of expert developers and prigrammers to choose from, if they are willing to pay…

    it’s only corrupt jackasses directed by politicians can get NOTHING RIGHT…every year, the same story.

    Besides, there is lots more to this, but not for this forum..


  2. The leak is concerning but we will always have folks trying to game the system. I see some are emphasizing an increase use of computers but we all know that they can be hacked.

    The urge to have an advantage is strong and there is always someone willing to pay for that advantage and a few will take their money.

    CXC must try to minimize these mistakes and treat each as a learning experience.


  3. THEO

    WHEN O& C OR LONDON OR CAMBRIDGE WAS DOING RUBBISH WITH PEOPLE’S EXAM PAPERS AND GRADES BACK IN THE DAY WHO WAS BULL SHITTING IN THE REGION ABOUT IT?

    WHO COULD SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT THEN?

    WHY DONT YOU AND WARU AND OTHERS GO AND RUN CXC THEN

    WHY DO OUR FOLK TRASH ALL OUR REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND WE LAUD AND MAGNIFY THE BULLSHIT THAT IS DONE ABROAD AND IMPORTED INTO THE REGION SUCH AS THE PRETTY-COLS IN THE COVID PLANNED-DEMIC.

    NONE OF THE PRETTY COLS WORKED
    NONE OF THE VACCINES WORKED
    IN FACT THEY MOST LIKELY CAUSED DEATHS

    BUT THIS WAS BOT CALLLED A FIASCO–AND PEOPLE DIED!

    IN CONTRAST WHERE ESTABLISHED TREATMENT REGIMEN WERE APPLIED RESULTS WERE ATTAINED

    HOW MANY HAVE DIED OR WILL DIE BECAUSE A PERSON LEAKED AN EXAM PAPER.

    IT MAY WELL HAVE BEEN BECAUSE SOME PIECED TOGETHER A DRAFT FOUND IN THE RUBBISH OUTSIDE A PRINTING PRESS—AS HAS BEEN THE CASE AT SOME PRESTIGIOUS ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE PAST


  4. I would love the opportunity to run it.
    However, I would not have Waru on the job. I suspect that she would burn the building down even if we were both inside 🙂

    I like CXC, but mistakes were made.


  5. “BULLSHIT THEO!
    (1) WHY RETEST ALL WHEN THEY WERE MORE THAN ONE COMPONENT OF THE EXAM?

    IT WAS LESS COSTLY IN EVERY RESPECT AND MORE PRACTICAL TO JUST REMOVE ONE ELEMENT OF THE ASSESMENT

    HOW DOES RETESTING ALL MAKE IT CORRECT?”

    (2)”IS IT NOT NOW CORRECT TO BE LGBTQ XYZ AND SEEK TO FORCE OTHERS TO YOUR VIEW POINT NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY?”

    (2) Allow me to ignore thye LBTQ XYZ+ bit.
    (1) I do not know the structure of the CXC exam but I imagine that the different parts look at competency in different areas.

    For the sake of argument lets say that PART A focuses on trigonometry, PART B focuses algebra and PART C focuses on statistics and that we removed Part B.
    Consequences
    (1)This favors those who were weak in Part B
    (2) It punishes those who were strong in that Part B and was depending on that are to pull up their grades.
    (3) What you have done is to shuffle the grades around. It will benefit some and punish others. I want to examine a student across the entire course and then decide the ‘victors and losers’

    My preference would be expose students to all three areas and use that to award the grades.


  6. (1) “WHEN O& C OR LONDON OR CAMBRIDGE WAS DOING RUBBISH WITH PEOPLE’S EXAM PAPERS AND GRADES BACK IN THE DAY WHO WAS BULL SHITTING IN THE REGION ABOUT IT?

    WHO COULD SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT THEN?”

    (2) “WHY DONT YOU AND WARU AND OTHERS GO AND RUN CXC THEN”
    (2) I replied to (2) earlier, but I believe that Waru and I may be headed in different directions.

    (1) You have a point when it comes to lack of criticisms for exams originating outside of the region. Please note that my comments are not on the content/quality of the exams but is directed towards the response of CXC . On that I cannot budge. There is an expression ‘When you stand for nothing, you fall for everything”.

    It pains me to see CXC vacillating/wilting when pressure is applied. I believe CXC’s responses are geared towards pleasing it opponents and not on finding the correct response.

  7. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    my position is very clear…CXC should be DISBANDED based entirely on their decades of some very ugly oppressive and exploitative actions.

    ..which administrative agency, cause that’s all they are, collects 6 million or more for a review and a year later refuse to give any information to those in the region who paid the money they can ill afford…

    Which administrative institution you know has IMMUNITY and can decide to screw with the region’s children’s grades without accountability…when did this become acceptable..

    Finally…which backward miseducation administrative entity you know has IMMUNITY to DISEMPOWER STUDENTS…along with all the other evil actions THAT THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE…

    They know well enuff what they have done and now others know as well.


  8. OK THEO
    PEACE
    I AGREE ON MUCH OF WHAT YOU HAVE SAID

    E.G My preference would be expose students to all three areas and use that to award the grades.

    UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS OFTEN NOT THE CASE WHEN MANY EXAMS ARE SET, BUT I AGREE WITH YOU 100% THAT THIS SHOULD BE THE GOAL, AS THIS IS THE METHOD I EMPLOY .IS TO SEEK TO EXAMINE THE STUDENT’S COMPETENCY ACROSS THE BOARD

    CARRY ON SMARTLY THEO

  9. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    “However, I would not have Waru on the job. I suspect that she would burn the building down even if we were both inside 🙂”

    Ya not very far off the mark…lol


  10. Last comment
    I think I can understand the reluctance of some to sit the exam a second time.

    If my memory is correct, UWI had what was called a supplemental Mathematics exam which was given to students who did not pass the first year exam in the first sitting.

    It would appear that UWI had the idea that if you did not pass on the first attempt then you shouldN’T pass on the second attempt. Hopefully, this kind of thinking is a thing of the past.

    The supplemental exams were three times as hard as the original paper. A person had to really know his/her stuff to pass the supplemental exam.

    Have a great day Barbados.
    Have a great day all.


  11. I dont know shit about CXC. I wrote Oxford and Cambridge. However, according to a Canadian who was posted to Barbados, the secondary school education is second to none. His son had problem coping and keeping up with the locals. The stuff they studied at age 14 was don in grade 12/13 in Canada. For instance, Chemistry and Physics were started in grade 12 at the time.

    He was so impressed, that when he returned, he boarded his son with a local family so he could complete his high school in Barbados.

    I heard him in the late 90’s or early 2000’s on Lowell Greens’ talk show.

  12. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    my position is very clear…CXC should be DISBANDED based entirely on their decades of some very ugly oppressive and exploitative actions.

    Do you really think they will try any of the EVIL shit they do to local students WHO CANNOT FIGHT BACk, neither can their parents and guardians…on FOREIGN STUDENTS…a recipe for IMMEDIATE SHUT DOWN…

    Wee should be making sure that they and their political handlers are also too afraid to practice their CRIMINALITY on local students as well ..instead of expounding with such pride on how wonderful they are to white and other foreign students…it’s the crimes they commit against local and regional stidents tell the real tale…

  13. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    In other words, they only got away with treating their own local and regional people like that, because they did not know before and have finally arrived at the understanding that THEY CAN FIGHT BACK.

    scummy politicians cant terrorize the people anymore…via criminal administration..

  14. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    What’s disturbing is those miseducated in the 50s and 60s era are so dumbed down that it goes way above their heads that there are people in the 21st century more than qualified to competently manage an administrative educational entity…..they are having serious issues grasping that concept..

    Some could have really remained on the island since they learned absolutely nothing new.


  15. NOW LISTEN TO AND ANALYZE THIS RUBBISH BELOW
    An education system that is ‘relevant’ seeks to :
    1- maximize the talents and capabilities of the graduates of the system
    2- refine its top talents to be ‘world class’ by global standards.
    3- establish local standards that meet or exceed best practice ANYWHERE.

    MY UNDERSTANDING FOR MEMBERS OF MY PROFESSION OR HC ALUMNI WHO WERE MISEDUCATED IN THE 50OS AND SINCE, ARE THAT WE HAVE MANY PERSONS WHO HAVE EMERGED FROM OUR INFERIOR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE SUPERIOR WHERE EVER THEY HAVE GONE TO WORK IN THE SO CALLED DEVELOPED WORLD.

    THEY HAVE MOST CERTAINLY DEMONSTRATED THAT WE HAVE maximizeD the talents and capabilities of these graduates of the system

    IT IS CLEAR THAT THESE GRADUATES HAVE BOTH MET & FAR exceed best PRACTICES EVERYWHERE THAT THEY HAVE GONE

    THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THEY ARE REFINED TOP TALENTS WHO ARE ‘world class’ by global standards AND EVEN SURPASSED SUCH.

    RE You DON’T create your OWN damn bogus measuring stick and fool yourself about how ‘great’ you are doing
    REALLY?
    WHAT BULLSHIT?

    EVA BODY DOES CREATE DEM OWN measuring stick and fool THEMSELVES about how ‘great’ THEY are doing.

    WHY IS IT THEN THAT THE BRITISH AMERICAN AND ENGLISH EXTERNAL EXAMINERS LAUD THE COMPETENCE OF OUR MEDICAL UNDERGRADUATES AND CONSIDER THEM TO BE SUPERIOR TO THEIRS?

    WHAT CAN THIS BU BULL SHITTER SAY ABOUT THIS?

    RE
    To do this, you need a highly focused educational strategy that identifies special talents, and hone them to be the best ANYWHERE

    YOU MEAN LIKE STEINBOK AND LAMMING AND OTHERS IN THIER FIELDS
    WHAT ABOUT VICTOR BLANCHETTE AT CAMBRIDGE OR DR GREAVES AND BANFIELD AT PFIZER
    THEO TALMA AND TOP MUSICIANS LIKE SEAN JACKSON AND LLOYD WILSON

    CAN YOU IDENTIFY SUCH a highly focused educational strategy?
    DO YOU MEAN MARICICOPA?
    RE ..That identifies ordinary talents, and take them to be the best that they can be…
    TELL US WHAT RESOURCES YOU HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN WE HAVE DONE?

    RE If you are SERIOUS about achieving the results above, THEN you engage INDEPENDENT evaluation methodologies that are GLOBALLY recognized – and you judge your results therefrom, and adjust the program to get improvements.

    YOU MEAN BY EMPLOYING BU BULL SHITTERS LIKE YOU

    TELL US ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATION methodologies that are GLOBALLY recognized FOR MEDICINE AS AN EXAMPLE/

    COME EDUCATE US
    EFFLUX YOUR FAECULENT EXUDATE AS USUAL AS IF YOU KNOW ALL BOUT EVA TING
    BRING MIRTH MAN BRING MIRTH

    HOW COME SINCE YOU KNOW EVA TING BOUT EVATING YOU NOT LEADING THE WORLD?


  16. @ Dame B
    There are schools in Barbados that easily fit the experience you have outlined. It is also true that in some areas, CXC may be more demanding than most international exam agencies.
    …so answer Bushie this…

    If our aim is to produce world class students, why not submit our top students to the international measurement standards and have those that you described be evaluated (and respected) as international ‘best in class’?
    …instead of creating our own isolated scheme, with MORE rigorous requirements – (making OUR top students look average, and CRUSHING the average students) in our attempts to gain international respect for CXC?

    ..and why endure the stigma of annual scandals, exam leaks, and poor administration – that then reflects negatively, even on our best top performers?

    Would it not make more sense to concentrate our resources on producing even more of our impressive students to excel at the international standard – rather than waste millions creating our own misguided measure, that adds only ego value?

    Shiite… Top international firms (and even the local ‘foreign-owned’ businesses) would actively pursue graduates who are adjudged to be operating three years AHEAD of their peers…

    But perhaps such visionary thinking is not as common as it should be…

  17. Yolande Grant - African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved. Avatar
    Yolande Grant – African Online Publishing Copyright (c) 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    Me thinks the party is over.

    Nothing can be done in secret with slick sleight of hand anymore., the cover up this and that to pretend they are not aligned or work with……….is DONE.

    No more last blast..

    All that’s left is to stay on the sidelines and throw gasoline …. watch it all come down….


  18. @Bush Tea

    By your misguided argument we should retire the UWI? Artax explained to you already CXC/CAPE is a secondary effort that seeks to lay a foundation of learning that is relevant/indigenous to the region. Your position continues to be elusive to a lowly Blogmaster.


  19. Hear hear…

    Humphrey urges young men to take lead to help develop country

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2023/05/20/humphrey-urges-young-men-to-take-lead-to-help-develop-country/


  20. @Bush Tea

    Extracted from BT’s 20th editorial:

    Formed in 1972 with the agreement signed in Barbados by 15 English-speaking Caribbean countries establishing the Council, CXC’s first meeting was held the following year, under the chairmanship of revered educator and Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir Roy Marshall.
    The Caribbean Secondary Education
    Certificate (CSEC®) was the region’s indigenous equivalent or replacement for the British GCE O’Level certification and it has garnered international acceptance as a high-quality examination for secondary school students.
    The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency
    Examinations (CAPE) are taken by persons who have completed their secondary ordinary level education.


  21. Dr. GP…… YOU ARE CORRECT. Agree with you 100%. Some misguided clowns seem to believe they MUST comment on EVERY thread, with the same silly repetitive rhetoric, and clearly demonstrating they either don’t understand or have any knowledge of the topic. They use this forum as a basis to remain relevant, convince themselves they are actually doing something and define their sad, miserable lives.


  22. Boss
    If you don’t follow – just say so…
    But because Bushie respects you so much….

    How is a call to focus on creating the BEST GLOBAL academic PERFORMERS, as judged by the best International standards available, seen as a ‘call to retire UWI’?.
    Which part of REFOCUS and REPURPOSE …with clear objectives to be achieved …is hard to grasp?

    Where there is no vision….

    OK…
    Here is an equivalent scenario ..that hopefully helps to make sense of the logic..

    There are large numbers of EXTREMELY talented athletes in Barbados- many of whom are natural tennis players.

    We have a choice to make….
    EITHER invest in these talents via excellent local training, coaching and resources to hone some of these talents into Wimbledon and Grand Slam GREATS…

    OR…
    we can invest our limited resources to create our own unique ‘road tennis version’ where we are the Universe Champions – but where no one else gives a shit, and our ‘champions’ are ‘scrunting’ poor … as are the organizers, who are begging for regional and international ‘recognition’, and for others to come over and adopt to OUR rules…

    Bush Tea can guess where you would be leaning…. like our sports ministry…
    But not stinking Bushie…

    Bushie would be pushing for Darion King et al, to get all the support needed – and for FULL national backing (via a state funded institution), to win Grand Slams, Wimbledon …every shiite… and bring home summa dat prize $$$$$ etc

    You see, REAL bushmen aim to beat brass bowls AT THEIR OWN GAME …every time boss…!

    We don’t run off and make up our our rules – and then beg for brass bowl acceptance…. This is so because the basic rules that guide bushmen are ABSOLUTE! ..and they supersede all else…

    Continue smartly with your ‘Galaxy Road Tennis Championship’ program bossman… let us ignore the existing ‘Olympic and World Championship’ sports that everyone else is focused on…and making $$$$ from….
    LOL


  23. @Bush Tea

    Thanks for the clarification. Are these international standards the same tenets that undergird Western philosophy? One that has built its reputation on feeding capitalism; growing debt, financial arbitrage, increasing leverage and all the other KPIs worshiped by the West.

    Tell us how a tiny island is to disengage from this ecosystem? The prevailing behaviour of the population cannot be disrupted by the political directorate alone, the baked in behaviours straddle all facets of society, government, NGOS ets.

    It is a big job.


  24. It is a big job.
    ~~~~~~~~~
    Got THAT right.
    …and as you know, that will require BIG BB people.

    As to the albino centric REALITIES of our shiite world…
    That is what it is!!…. We are here to rise ABOVE the shiite cauldron… not to run and hide from it…

    Bolt and Jamaica COULD have said that the various sprint races are a lotta albino-centric shiite, with materialistic rules…
    – and COULD have developed their own local ‘jerk chicken sprint’ – at 125 meters in Montego Bay…

    BUT instead, they took up the challenge of dominating the Olympics and other internationally accepted challenges -under the current rules…. and cut nuff tail.
    …at least until Bolt’s money get thief…. 🙂

    Rihanna COULD have insisted on singing calypso and folk music too… She would still be Westbury Road at she mudda..

    If wunna want to judge wunna selves by ‘economic growth’, ‘social development’ and ‘first-world status’ – in a world that is built on Western philosophy.. is it not OBVIOUS that wunna must be able to succeed IN such a world?

    …as to ‘how a tiny island is to disengage from this ecosystem?”
    Why not ask Singapore? especially ask about the role of clear and focused leadership vision.

    Actually, disengaging from the flawed economic ecosystems is only the very first step. We also need to disengage from all the other brassbowlery that comes with the albino-centric package. However one must creep before expecting to walk…..


  25. @Bush Tea

    Your references can be probed many times over. It is easy to cherry-pick without anchoring the discussion in context but your drift is understood.


  26. @ David
    … It is easy to cherry-pick without anchoring the discussion in context…
    _____________
    Don’t be uncharitable Boss.
    You of all people know that if the bushman has a problem, it is that his discussions (and actions) are DEEPLY anchored within a clear and deliberate spiritual context.
    Should a bushman therefore NOT participate in the petty trivia discussions of brass bowls???
    Wuh – The first bushman spent time healing sick brass bowls, feeding hungry people and even making some fancy wine for an oversubscribed wedding reception… although he KNEW that this was all petty jobby.

    …and too besides, BU got REAL jokes and fun – listening to a bunch of poor-ass people, who can’t even get their own donkeys out of debt – pontificating on complex matters of State….. much like a dentist with crooked teeth telling Bushie shiite about putting dentures the bushman mout… 🙂
    Bushie like um bad doh!!!

    BUT if wunna discussing an ‘eddykashun’ system and its weaknesses – and no one even bothered to explore what the GRAND INTENT of having such a system SHOULD BE in the first place is…. or what really constitutes its ‘success or failure’, it is only obvious that a bushman’s solutions (spiritually grounded as they would be) could seem like nonsense… however..

    The REAL questions are these…
    1 – Is Bushie rich as shiite? …answer – Obviously, since his adoptive father is even richer than shiite..
    2 – Does Bushie know the REAL answers to these complex questions? answer Obviously! – Even if he did NOT, he only has to ask his adoptive father – who definitely knows every shiite…
    3 – Does Bushie even care if wunna ever get ‘eyes to see’ and ‘ears to hear’ the REAL truth? answer – Steupsss! Since de whacker get tek way …the bushman like he don’t even care anymore…..


  27. A blessed and happy morning to all.

    Over the years, I have noticed the disappearance and sometimes the reappearance of some teenagers. Can anyone hazard a guess at what is happening?

    Does the police need to become more aggressive?
    Just curious.
    Have a great day all

  28. The Game Changer Avatar
    The Game Changer

    CXC papers get tek up. CXC by it various responses is suicidal bland now we are watching CXC being murdered by leaks and thieves.

    I retired but I might just apply for a job at CXC. They need to fire bullshitters and get an ass kicker.

    Kicker is what I said. Kicker not kisser.


  29. CXC is making me lose sleep.

    Have you ever seen an individual with a well developed upper half, but when you look at his legs you see two straws? He/she focused on one part of his/her body at the expense of the rest.

    Allow me to ask a few questions:
    Did CXC focus on developing test scripts and neglected to invest in safely securing these scripts?

    Was CXC unaware that having possession of these scripts prior to the exam was of significant values to others and failed to employ the correct level of security?

    Were removable metal cabinets the place to store these scripts?

    Was security increased when scripts were on site?

    Has CXC perform a rigorous background check of those who come in contact with the scripts before they are given to the students?

    Allow me to make one negative comment.

    Please do not tell me of time, money or of anxiety or stress to test takers.

    CXC must stop listening to these cry babies and their parents. CXC should reschedule these exams and offer a make-up test to those who are unable to attend the new schedule.

    Shit, just like life, happens

    CXC needs to invest in technology to have these tests done online.


  30. CXC still making news
    https://starcomnetwork.net/blog/2023/08/31/foundation-students-complain-of-cxc-sba-foul-up/

    Starcom, fix your damn site. I thought I would catch the flu, a virus or COVID-25 when I was there.

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