The first set of Grade six students to write the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) here in St Vincent and the Grenadines has returned a pass rate of 78.08 per cent.{{more}}

Of the 1,934 students who wrote the exam, 1,510 met the prescribed standard.

The results of the CPEA, which were released last Friday, June 13, stand in stark contrast to those of the Common Entrance Exam (CEE), in which 55.74 per cent of the students passed last year.

A release from the Ministry of Education said of the 912 females, 798 or 87.50 per cent met the required standard, while of the 1,022 males, 712 or 69.67 per cent, met the required standard.

According to the release, students’ final scores were derived from the aggregate scores of both components of the CPEA. That is, the External Assessment, which consisted of Multiple Choice Tests in Mathematics, Science and Language Arts and from the School-Based Assessment, which comprised a Project, a Writing Portfolio, a Book Report, as well as Teacher Tests, Pupil Made Tests and Can-Do-Skills exercises in Mathematics, Science, Language Arts and Civics.

The highest average score recorded for the 2014 CPEA is 95.40 per cent. There are 39 schools that recorded a pass rate in excess of 80 per cent.

Laron Jones of the Questelles Government School was the top student, with an average of 95.40 per cent. In second place was Elleann Bailey of the Windsor Primary School, with an average of 95.20 per cent. In third place were D’Angelo Dick and Aaron Isaac-Horne, both of the Union Methodist Primary School, with an average of 93.60 per cent.

The first 11 places were taken by the following schools: Questelles Government School (2 students); Union Methodist Primary School (2 students); Sugar Mill Academy (2 students); Barrouallie Government School (2 students); Windsor Primary School (1 student); Kingstown Preparatory School (1 student) Calliaqua Anglican School (1 student).

In the External Assessment, the highest score in Science was achieved by Tyrese Lewis of the Mustique Government School, who got 100 per cent. For English, Odion Hamlet of the Barrouallie Government School and Tiyana Roberts of the Calder Government School were the top performers with 96 per cent.

Laron Jones of the Questelles Government School and Khalil Ashton of the Lodge Village Government School achieved perfect scores of 100 per cent in Mathematics.

The School-Based Assessment accounts for a maximum of 200 marks or 40 per cent of the total score, while for the External Assessment a maximum of 300 marks or 60 per cent of the score can be attained.

The criterion for determining the required standard is that students must acquire at least 50 per cent of the possible 500 marks.

Last year, 2,314 wrote the CEE. The proportion of students who met the prescribed standard was 1,290 (55.74 per cent). The highest average score in 2013 was 95.16 per cent, the same as the highest average score in 2012.