CPEA 2015 Summary Report

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

SUMMARY REPORT ON CANDIDATES’ PERFORMANCE IN THE 2015 CARIBBEAN PRIMARY EXIT ASSESSMENT (CPEA)

OVERALL REPORT

BACKGROUND

The Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) was introduced in place of the National Common Entrance Examination (CEE) for the first time in 2012. The CPEA is a measure of the key skills required by students exiting the primary school system. It involves continuous assessment of students’ performance throughout Grades 5 and 6. Students are therefore assessed for formative, summative and diagnostic purposes. The CPEA has been developed by the Caribbean Examinations’ Council (CXC) in collaboration with the Ministries’ of Education throughout the region.

The 2015 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) officially commenced with the internal component in September, 2014 and culminated on Friday,15 May 2015, with the external component. The assessment was opened to all students who were 11 but not yet 14 years of age on 1 September 2015.

THE CPEA COMPRISES TWO (2) COMPONENTS:

• Internal Assessment (40% of total score)
• External Assessment (60% of total score)

Features of the internal assessment include:

• Project
• Book Report
• Writing Portfolio
• Self-assessment
• Practice in “Can-do” Skills: English, Mathematics, Science and Civics
• Teacher made test in English, Mathematics, Science and Civics

Features of the external assessment include 50 multiple choice questions in:

• Mathematics
• English
• Science

Students were given 75 minutes to complete each paper.

REGISTRATION AND SECONDARY SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT

1,837 students were registered for the Assessment. This included 943 males and 894 females. However, 1,835 students wrote the Assessment; 941 were males, while 894 were females. 1,563 students were assigned to secondary schools throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. This included 736 males and 827 females. Therefore, 272 students were retained at the primary school.

These students, once within the CPEA eligibility age will have another opportunity to write the Assessment in 2016. On the other hand, those who have passed the age will write the National School Leaving Examination in 2016.

In 2014, 1,605 candidates were registered; 813 were males and 792 were females. However, 1,438 students were assigned to secondary schools.

Table 1: The number of students assigned to each secondary school

GENERAL RESULTS

The highest score attained in the assessment was 490 out of a maximum possible score of 500. According to the Caribbean Examinations’ Council (CXC), Grenada captured the top three positions in the region. Daryl Streete from Beacon Junior and Leoneal Rennie from St Andrew’s RC were ranked number one in the region by CXC. While Kayla Jordan of Westmorland Secondary School placed third. The national mean was 66.2 and the standard deviation 15.01. This reflects that the mean has remained the same when compared to 2014’s 66.23 and has improved as compared to the 2013’s 63.26. 85.1% of the CPEA candidates writing the assessment procured fifty percent or above in the assessment.

All primary and secondary schools would be provided with the list of students assigned to each school and the candidates’ profiles as indicated by the raw scores.

External Component

In the external component, students performed the best in Science. Out of a total possible score of one hundred, the national mean in Science was 65.96, an improvement of 0.92. In Language Arts the mean was 58.63, a decline from 2013’s 62.64 and an increase of 0.72 was recorded in Mathematics.

Table 2: The national mean in each subject area in the external

Table 3: The number of students obtaining scores in the presented range in the external component

8 students attained a perfect score (100%) in Mathematics in the external component in 2014. While in 2013, only half (4) of this number attained 100% in Mathematics. Additionally, 3 and 0 students obtained 100% in Language Arts in 2013 and 2014, respectively. While in Science only 1 student achieved maximum score both in 2013 and 2014.

Internal Component

In the internal assessment, the best performance was recorded in Civics, followed by Language Arts, Science, and Mathematics at the rear. Table 4 below demonstrates the national mean in all of the areas.

Table 4: The national mean in each subject area in the internal

Table 5: The number of students obtaining score in the presented range in the internal component

When compared to the other three subject areas, the number of students obtaining scores of 0–20 on the internal assessment was most for Mathematics.

Internal and External Combined

Table 6: The number of students obtaining score in the presented range in both the internal and external components

When both the internal assessment and the external assessment scores were combined, most students (44.8%) fell within the 61–80 range of scores. No student obtained score from the 0-20 range.

Table 7: Number of students obtaining 50% and above in the external assessment

Table 8: Number of students obtaining 50% and above in the internal assessment