Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
News
March 19, 2010

Record number takes CSEC Exams

The number of candidates sitting the 2010 January Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations more than doubled, with some 54,866 candidates writing the examinations compared with 26,093 in 2009.{{more}}

Subject entries also increased significantly, with 76, 899 subject entries received this year, compared with 43, 873 in 2009.

The increase was due mainly to a change in policy in Trinidad and Tobago; where the Government took a decision to pay the fees of all private candidates to write CXC examinations.

Performance declined in nine of the 12 subjects offered in January, while improvements were made in the other three subjects, when compared with performance in 2009.

While the overall performance percentage declined by three percent, the actual number of candidates achieving acceptable grades at the higher end of the scale increased in several of the subjects.

In 2009 when there were 43, 873 subject entries, 55 percent of entries achieved acceptable grades – Grades I to III, and this year with 76, 899 subject entries, 51 percent of the entries achieved acceptable grades.

The three subjects with improved performance were Chemistry, Human and Social Biology and Information Technology.

For Chemistry, 41 percent of the entries achieved acceptable grades, compared with 37 percent in 2009. Despite the improvement, the Examining Committee said Organic Chemistry remains a major weakness on the Chemistry paper.

Human and Social Biology saw a nine-percentage point improvement, with 54 percent of the entries achieving Grades I to III, compared with 45 percent in 2009. Information Technology, which declined last year, rebounded this year with a seven-percent improvement. Sixty-four percent of the entries achieved Grades I to III, compared with 57 percent in 2009.

Noting the improved performance on questions dealing with Database Management, the Examining Committee for Information Technology listed five areas of weak performance. These are Binary Mathematics, User Interfaces, Problem-Solving and Programming, Spreadsheet and Database Management.

Spanish returned the best performance overall, even though there was a decline when compared with 2009. Seventy percent of entries achieved acceptable grades this year, compared with 75 percent last year.

Most of the Examining Committees reported a general lack of preparedness of candidates.

The Principles of Accounts Committee stated that candidates were “not adequately prepared,” and suggested that candidates “utilize the resources available, including the POA Study Guide and past examination papers.” The latter was also recommended by the Social Studies Examining Committee.

Performance in Biology this year declined significantly, compared with previous years, and the Examining Committee identified four topics which candidates were particularly weak on. These are Fruit and Seed Dispersal, Plant and Animal Cell Structure, Adaptations to the environment and Physical factors of the environment.

Further, the Committee expressed the view that while candidates may know some of the material, “they could not effectively utilize their knowledge.”

Mathematics, with 22, 354 entries, saw a decline in performance this year. However, the Committee noted that candidates showed good proficiency in Computation, Set theory, Consumer Arithmetic and Investigations, but “performed poorly on Relations, Functions and Graphs, Trigonometry and Geometry, Vector and Matrices and Measurement.”

English A had the largest number of candidates registered, some 23,062. There was a marginal decline in performance; 55 percent of entries achieved Grades I to III, compared with 59 percent in 2009. The Examining Committee has recommended that “efforts to improve the skills of teachers in the teaching of English must be ongoing.”

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    VincyJewels still queens of OECS Netball
    Front Page
    VincyJewels still queens of OECS Netball
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    ST VINCENT and the Grenadines’ Vincy Jewels retained the Gloria Ballantyne Trophy, symbol of netball supremacy in the just concluded 5th ECCB Internat...
    Man, 26 pleads not guilty to multiple charges
    Front Page
    Man, 26 pleads not guilty to multiple charges
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    AYOUNG MAN, who claimed that he received multiple injuries that were inflicted by the police, is now facing multiple charges. David Bailey, 26, of Ver...
    St Clair Jimmy Prince  endorsed for Marriaqua
    Front Page
    St Clair Jimmy Prince endorsed for Marriaqua
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    THE UNITY LABOUR PARTY (ULP) has endorsed Minister of Health,Wellness and the Environment, St Clair Jimmy Prince, for another run in the constituency ...
    Students return to new premises at Fitz Hughes Primary
    Front Page
    Students return to new premises at Fitz Hughes Primary
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    CHILDREN WHO ATTEND the Fitz Hughes Primary School and Early Learning Development Centre return to a new, upgraded educational facility this term afte...
    Israel Bruce wants civil servants to be paid twice monthly
    Front Page
    Israel Bruce wants civil servants to be paid twice monthly
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    OPPOSITION SENATOR, Israel Bruce is suggesting that public servants in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) should be paid fortnightly, instead of at t...
    Methodist Church helps equip students for 2025/26 school year
    News
    Methodist Church helps equip students for 2025/26 school year
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    SEVERAL CHILDREN in primary and secondary schools, returned to the classroom this week better prepared because of assistance provided by the Methodist...
    News
    Methodist Church helps equip students for 2025/26 school year
    News
    Methodist Church helps equip students for 2025/26 school year
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    SEVERAL CHILDREN in primary and secondary schools, returned to the classroom this week better prepared because of assistance provided by the Methodist...
    Female farmer urges SVG youth to embrace farming
    News
    Female farmer urges SVG youth to embrace farming
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    APPROXIMATELY 28 of the 43 interns who took part in the 2025Youth Agricultural Summer Internship Programme (YASIP) are hoping to pursue a career in ag...
    Music Man dies in UK
    News
    Music Man dies in UK
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    CALYPSO LOVERS in St Vincent and the Grenadines are mourning the loss of Vincentian calypsonian, Michael Nanton, known as Music Man. Music Man died in...
    Building and Loan scholarships aid three get ready for Secondary School
    News
    Building and Loan scholarships aid three get ready for Secondary School
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    THE St Vincent Building and Loan Association (SVBLA) has awarded three students with scholarships to further their education at secondary schools. The...
    Minister of Culture underscores importance of CARIFESTA
    News
    Minister of Culture underscores importance of CARIFESTA
    Webmaster 
    September 2, 2025
    REGIONAL EVENTS like the Caribbean Festival of Arts, CARIFESTA, are important as they provide an avenue where talent and creativity are exported. Spea...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok