Gains in English, Math as CSEC results improve

Minister of Education Nicolette Henry announcing the 2018 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination results. (Terrence Thompson photo)

The Education Ministry yesterday reported an improvement in the overall pass rate among Guyanese students at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certification (CSEC) examinations, surpassing the regional average while also making gains in English and Mathematics. 

While Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Registrar Glenroy Cumberbatch recently reported that 60,000 candidates wrote five or more CSEC subjects and 59% of them gained acceptable grades, Minister of Education Nicolette Henry yesterday told those gathered in the boardroom of the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) that 69.1% of the 12,269 Guyanese students who sat this year’s examinations earned Grade 1 to Grade 3 passes, compared to 63.68% in 2017 and 63.39% in 2016.

However, while 233 of the Guyanese students were able to secure Grade 1 passes in more than eight subjects, more than 600 or approximately 5% were unable to secure passes in any subject area. Additionally, despite the improvement in the pass rate for Mathematics, at 43.39%, it remains one of three subjects where the pass rate is less than 50%. The other two subjects are Integrated Science, with a pass rate of 49.1%, and Music, which a mere 28.57% of candidates passed.