Summary results of the 2023 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment and transfer procedures

Overall Report

 Background

The Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) was introduced in place of the National Common Entrance Examination (CEE) 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’ performances throughout Grades 5 and 6. Students are therefore assessed for formative, summative and diagnostic purposes. The CPEA was developed by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) in collaboration with the Ministries of Education throughout the region.

Grenada administered both the internal and external components of the CPEA during the 2022–2023 academic year. The 2023 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) officially commenced with the internal component in September 2022 and culminated with the external components on Thursday, 4 May and Friday, 5 May 2023. The assessment was opened to all students who were 11 on or before 1 September 2023.

The CPEA comprises:

• 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

1. Language Arts
2. Mathematics
3. Science
4. Social Studies

Students were given 75 minutes to complete each paper.

Registration and Secondary School Assignment

1,877 students were registered for the Assessment in 2023. This figure included 1,030 males and 847 females. However, 1,875 students completed the internal component. 1,858 students wrote the external component of the examination; 17 of the registered students, 16 males and 1 female, did not write.

In 2022, one thousand eight hundred and three (1,803) students were registered to write the CPEA; 1,645 students were assigned to secondary schools. 1,906 students were registered for the CPEA in 2021; but only 1,720 students were assigned to secondary schools.

Of the 1,858 students, 1,013 males and 845 females who sat the external component of CPEA 2023, all have been assigned to a secondary school. The remaining 17 students, who were absent, would be supported to sit the assessment in 2024.

Table 1: Number of students assigned to each secondary school (2023)

General Results

95.8% of the CPEA candidates writing the assessment in 2023 obtained 50% or more. This reflects an improvement of 4.1% when compared with 91.7% achieving the same mark in 2022. The national mean for 2023 is 72.21. This reflects a small but significant improvement of 3.62% against 68.59 in 2022. In 2021, the national mean was 69.69.

Each primary school will receive its specific alphabetised copy of the Grade 6 students’ assignments to a secondary school with particulars for their students only. Further to this, the Ministry is pleased to publish the alphabetised list of all Grade 6 students entering secondary schools in September 2023.

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External Component  

In the external component, students performed the best in Science. Out of a total possible score of 100, the national mean in Science was 66.07, an improvement of 6.19 against 2022’s 59.88. A slight drop was seen in Mathematics with a shift from 53.88 in 2022 to 53.56 in 2023. The subject Language Arts documented the most significant increase, moving from a mean score of 46.92 in 2022 to 59.75. The mean for the Social Studies external component in 2022 was 59.87 compared to 60.30 in 2023.

Table 2: National Mean in each subject area in the external component

Internal Component

In the internal assessment, the best performance was recorded in Social Studies, followed by Language Arts, Science and Mathematics. Table 3 below demonstrates the national mean in all of the areas. The mean score in Language Arts, internal component was 84.89 and Mathematics mean score was 84.43.              

Table 3: National Mean in each subject area in the internal component of the assessment

Table 4: Number of students obtaining 50% or above in the external assessment

Table 4 shows that 1348 students attained 50% or above in the external component of the examination. This figure represents 72.56% of the students writing this component.

Table 5: Number of students obtaining 50% or above in the internal assessment

There were 1,875 students achieving the 50% or above mark in the internal component of the examination, representing 97.5% of the cohort participating in the internal aspect of the examination.

The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture extends sincere thanks to principals, teachers, and staff of all primary schools, as well as parents, guardians and other stakeholders for the support given to the students who sat the CPEA in 2023.

Exiting primary school students are encouraged to embrace all opportunities to build on their achievements thus far and to diligently pursue excellence in all endeavours as they journey through their secondary school life.

TRANSFER PROCEDURES

Grounds for Transfer Request

Transfers will only be allowed under the following strictly adhered-to grounds:

For a student to be transferred (from the first school assigned to another), at least one of the following criteria must be met:

• AVAILABILITY of Space: in accordance with the 1:35 teacher-to-pupil ratio
• VACATED Space: where a student has vacated an assigned placement at the school for which a transfer is requested
• OTHER Special Conditions: Hinged on a) and b), but not limited to where the following conditions apply:
  • Medical and/or Psychological Conditions: underlying conditions with proven history and records
  • Change in Residence: Where the student now resides closer to the preferred school (proof required)

Transfers: The following procedures will apply when requesting transfers for students:

1. Parents or Guardians shall apply for transfer electronically via https://form.jotform.com/231434417142851
2. The applications form should be completed by 19 June 2023
3. The application will be reviewed by a CPEA Transfer Committee (comprised of the manager, the Principal and Vice Principal of the school), chaired by the Principal
4. The school’s CPEA Transfer Committee will meet and submit their recommendations to the Ministry of Education, through the Office of the Chief Education Officer no later than 2 weeks after the results are published. Recommendations received after the deadline will not be considered

1. 1. Principals will send all recommendations for transfers to the Ministry of Education through the Office of the Chief Education Officer, for review and approval
   2. All recommendations for transfers shall be forwarded to the Planning, Research & Development Unit through the Office of the Chief Education Officer, for documentation and collating, which must be done within 2 business days following receipt
   3. All recommendations shall then be forwarded to the Ministry’s CPEA Oversight Committee (comprised of Chief Education Officer, DCEO-Testing & Measurement; DCEO-School Administration; Senior Planning Officer) for transfer review and decisions.

5. Transfers will only be granted after the Ministry of Education has reviewed and officially documented the transfer decision

Following the review and decisions, the following steps shall be taken:

1. For all approved transfers, the parent or guardian shall be notified in writing by the Office of the Chief Education Officer, so that all requisite steps are followed
2. For all denied transfers, the parent or guardian shall be notified in writing by the Office of the Chief Education Officer, so that all requisite steps are followed

NOTE

• The Ministry of Education will NOT ACCEPT any hard copies of completed transfer forms from parents, and accordingly, parents must refrain from making their request physically at the Examination’s Unit
• Parents who DO NOT have access to electronic means of submission can contact the Help Desk via telephone 440-2737 for assistance to complete the Transfer Form
• Late submission of transfer forms and incomplete forms WILL NOT be considered
• Based on students’ performance and the number of students placed in the school of their first choice, some schools have already met their capacity. Therefore, the Ministry of Education WILL NOT allow transfers to schools where the class size is already at its maximum.

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