The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is reforming its School-Based Assessment (SBA) framework, with changes set to affect students sitting Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects from the 2027 academic year.
The reforms are being introduced in response to the rapid growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and concerns about maintaining the integrity and authenticity of student assessments.
Under the new framework, SBAs will continue for subjects that rely heavily on practical skills and project-based learning, including Agricultural Science, Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education, Technical Drawing and Food, Nutrition and Health.
However, for non-practical subjects such as Mathematics, English, Caribbean History, Social Studies and Principles of Business, the traditional SBA model will be phased out.
Students in those subjects will instead complete Paper 032, an existing alternative assessment, under examination conditions with adjustments designed to maintain elements of research, reflection and extended learning.
Under the revised process, students will receive examination topics approximately one month before the assessment date, be given additional time to complete the work and will be allowed to bring reference notes into the examination room.
CXC Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Dr Wayne Wesley said the changes are not aimed at rejecting the use of AI in education, but are intended to protect the credibility of regional qualifications as schools and students adapt to new technologies.
Wesley said the SBA system has served Caribbean students for almost 50 years but acknowledged that adjustments are necessary to ensure assessments continue to accurately measure students’ knowledge and abilities.
“The integrity of our qualifications is not negotiable,” Wesley said. “When the system that was designed to assess a student’s work can no longer reliably do so, we have an obligation to act, and to act decisively.”
The changes follow consultations with stakeholders across 21 Caribbean states and territories.
CXC Director of Operations Dr Nicole Manning said the revised approach is intended to preserve the purpose of extended assessments while restoring confidence that submitted work reflects the student’s own abilities.
“A CXC qualification means something. It means something to employers, to universities, to parents, families and guardians who have invested years of commitment and sacrifice into a child’s education,” Manning said.
She urged students, parents and teachers to maintain the standards associated with CXC qualifications, which she said must continue to represent what learners know and can do.
The transition will take place in phases. CAPE candidates in non-practical subjects will move to Paper 032 beginning in May-June 2027.
For CSEC candidates, schools will have the option in 2027 to choose between the existing SBA and Paper 032. However, a full transition to Paper 032 for non-practical subjects will take effect from May-June 2028.
CXC said existing SBA scores will remain transferable under the established two-year rule. From 2027, Paper 032 scores will also be transferable under the same arrangement.
The regional examinations body said the reforms are aimed at ensuring CXC qualifications continue to maintain the confidence of students, families, educators, universities and employers across the Caribbean.
