On Thursday and Friday of this week, one thousand, eight hundred and forty-six (1,846) Grade Six pupils will sit the final component of the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) at 17 centres throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

There are 940 females and 906 males registered.The CPEA is an examination administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) for students exiting the primary cycle of their education.

The students will sit multiple choice papers in four subject areas, Mathematics, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies; Social Studies being assessed for the first time as part of the final component of the CPEA.

On the first day of the examinations, students will write Mathematics and Social Studies and on the second day, students will write Language Arts and Science. The multiple choice component of the assessment will comprise 60 per cent of their final score.

Each Multiple Choice paper consists of 50 items with a duration of one hour 15 minutes per paper.The results of the CPEA are expected to be published in June. The Ministry of Education will conduct the secondary school placement exercise as usual.In 2017, the overall pass rate for the CPEA was 85.35 per cent. Rosario Browne of the Kingstown Preparatory School was the top student with an average of 98 per cent.

All students who sat the exam in 2017 were placed into secondary schools. This is in conformity with the policy of Universal Access to Secondary Education.

The Minister of Education, in a release wished all students success in their examination and expressed his gratitude to the headteachers, teachers and stakeholders for their dedication to all students.The Ministry, in the release, also advised parents and teachers that 3B only pencils are required for this examination.