Breakdown of CXC results

While many students who wrote this year’s CXC exams were probably hoping for Grade I’s, a breakdown and analysis of the  grades and consequent percentage pass mark reveals that the majority of persons achieved Grade III’s in 33 subject areas.

While 25,272 persons wrote the Mathematics exam, only 10.1 percent  achieved Grade I, while 14.3 percent and 25.9 percent achieved Grades II’s and III’s, respectively. The overall percentage pass mark for Maths was 50.3 percent. In English Language, 24,858 students wrote the exam, only 13.8 percent were able to realise their dream of obtaining Grade I. The percentage of persons obtaining Grade III’s led this category at 25.5 percent, while 16.1 percent received Grade II. The overall percentage that passed English Language was 55.4 percent. In response, the Ministry of Education would once again like to stress that the baseline mark of a Grade II at CXC is equivalent to the baseline mark in the new Grade III. Grades I, II and III being awarded in the new CXC six-point grading scheme are now recognised for entry to post-secondary and tertiary institutes, the ministry stated. It is also acceptable for entry into the Public Service as well as the Teaching Service at primary level and for entry into the Government training institutions. Clothing and Textiles recorded the highest overall percentage pass mark out of all 33 subjects, as a whopping 95.2 percent of the 273 students who wrote this subject passed. However, the majority of persons achieved a Grade II, while only 10.6 percent obtained Grade I’s.

In the areas of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, the overall percentage pass marks revealed that a fair number of persons writing these exams were successful, with marks of 64.2 percent, 68.6 percent and 73.6 percent, respectively. The number of students taking subjects such as Principles of Accounts (POA) and Principles of Business (POB) totalled 18,993. However, the majority of students in both subject areas received Grade III’s while only 19.5 percent and 10.2 percent got Grade I’s in POA and POB, respectively. While 3,462 persons took Caribbean History, only 12.4 percent of them got Grade I’s. The only subject area which led with Grade I’s was English Literature as 31.8 percent obtained the required marks, while 24.9 got Grade II’s and 15.2 percent got Grade III’s. The overall percentage pass mark for French was 86.7 which led the languages category. In Spanish, 66 percent of 4,376 persons passed. The newest subject area to be introduced to the curriculum was Theatre Arts, with only 30 students writing the exam, and 70 percent of them were able to obtain the overall percentage pass mark.

The following is a list of the different subject areas and percentage attaining passes:-

* Agricultural Science (CS) - 84.1 percent
* Agricultural Science (DA) - 75.1 percent
* Visual Arts - 57. 5 percent
* Biology - 74.6 percent
* Building Tech. Const. - 69. 7 percent
* Caribbean History - 73.2 percent
* Chemistry - 68.6 percent
* Clothing and Textiles - 95.2 percent
* Elec. And Electronic Tech. - 73 percent
* English A - 55. 4 percent
* English B - 71.9 percent
* Food and Nutrition - 86.2 percent
* French - 86. 7 percent
* Geography - 71. 2 percent
* Home Econ. Management - 84.6 percent
* Information Technology (Technical) - 70.3 percent
* Information Technology (General) - 95 percent
* Integrated Science SA - 81.5 percent
* Mathematics - 50.3 percent
* Mech. Eng. Technology - 73.8 percent
* Office Procedures - 82.1 percent
* Physics - 64.2 percent
* Principles of Accounts - 75 percent
* Principles of Business - 77.7 percent
* Shorthand - 14.5 percent
* Social Studies - 80.8 percent
* Spanish - 66 percent
* Technical Drawing - 60.3 percent
* Typewriting - 53.8 percent
* Building Tech. Woods - 81.2 percent
* Agricultural Science (AS) - 82.4 percent
* Music - 48 percent
* Theatre Arts - 70 percent