Grenada, through the Testing and Examinations Unit of the Ministry of Education, successfully administered the internal and the external components of the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) for the 2023–2024 academic year.
1,705 students were registered for the Assessment in 2024. This included 846 males and 859 females. All the registered students wrote the internal component; however, 1,697 students wrote the external component.
Of the 1,705 students, all have been assigned to a secondary school under the Government of Grenada’s Universal Secondary Education Policy.
Overall Performance
- External Component
Overall, 1,220 students attained 50% and above in the external component of the examination. This figure represents 71.89% of all the students and comprises 663 females and 557 males.
Table 1: Number of students obtaining 50% or above in the external assessment
Percentage | Number of students by gender | Total | |
Male | Female | ||
≥ 50% | 557 | 663 | 1,220 |
< 50% | 284 | 193 | 477 |
Total | 841 | 856 | 1,697 |
For this component of the assessment, students performed best in Science. Of a total possible score of 100, the national mean in science was 64.13, a decline of 1.94 from 66.07 in 2023. The most notable drop was in Mathematics, with a shift from 58.53 in 2023 to 56.12 in 2024. The only subjects that documented a slight increase were Social Studies, moving from a mean score of 60.30 in 2023 to 60.57 in 2024, and Language Arts, from 59.75 to 59.82.
Table 2: The national mean in each subject area in the external component
Subject | Maximum Possible Score | National Mean | |||||||||
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
Mathematics | 100 | 56.21 | 56.93 | 60.25 | 57.16 | 54.13 | 55.56 | 49.06 | 53.88 | 58.53 | 56.12 |
Language Arts | 100 | 62.64 | 58.63 | 58.86 | 64.50 | 66.77 | 65.83 | 65.39 | 46.92 | 59.75 | 59.82 |
Science | 100 | 65.04 | 65.96 | 65.93 | 67.54 | 70.95 | 67.64 | 64.97 | 59.88 | 66.07 | 64.13 |
Social Studies | 100 | 54.66 | 64.20 | 64.51 | 59.87 | 60.30 | 60.57 |
- Internal Component
There were 1,651 students (845 females and 806 males) achieving the 50% and above mark in the internal component of the examination, representing 96.83% of the total number of students who wrote the exam.
Table 3: Number of students obtaining 50% or above in the internal assessment
Percentage | Number of students by gender | Total | |
Male | Female | ||
≥ 50% | 806 | 845 | 1,651 |
< 50% | 38 | 16 | 54 |
Total | 844 | 861 | 1,705 |
In this component of the assessment, the best performance was recorded in Mathematics, followed by Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science at the rear. The mean score in Language Arts was 83.63 and Mathematics, 87.71. Table 4 below demonstrates the national mean in all the subject areas.
Table 4: The national mean in each subject area in the internal component of the assessment
Subject | Maximum Possible Score | National Mean | |||||||||
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
Mathematics | 100 | 70.55 | 71.07 | 74.90 | 77.86 | 79.92 | 79.95 | 81.16 | 81.70 | 84.43 | 87.71 |
Language Arts | 100 | 72.92 | 74.28 | 75.92 | 77.78 | 80.29 | 80.37 | 82.41 | 83.56 | 84.89 | 83.63 |
Science | 100 | 72.37 | 73.61 | 74.90 | 78.09 | 79.23 | 80.65 | 82.95 | 83.49 | 84.56 | 83.22 |
Social Studies | 100 | 76.68 | 74.20 | 79.37 | 81.77 | 78.62 | 80.39 | 83.07 | 83.45 | 85.12 | 83.37 |
Secondary School Assignments
Below is a breakdown by gender, of the assignment of the 1,705 students to the various secondary schools.
Table 1: The number of students assigned to each secondary school (2024)
Grenada 2024 CPEA School Assignments | |||
Assigned Schools | Female | Male | Total |
Anglican High School | 105 | 105 | |
Bishop’s College | 21 | 19 | 40 |
Grenada Boys Secondary School | 139 | 139 | |
Grenada Seventh Day Adventist Comprehensive School | 27 | 34 | 61 |
Grenville Secondary School | 55 | 63 | 118 |
Harbour Light Christian Academy | 1 | 1 | |
Hillsborough Secondary School | 18 | 21 | 39 |
J W Fletcher Catholic Secondary School | 41 | 29 | 70 |
Mac Donald College | 32 | 49 | 81 |
Presentation Brothers’ College | 70 | 70 | |
St Andrew’s Anglican Secondary School | 47 | 68 | 115 |
St David’s Catholic Secondary School | 48 | 54 | 102 |
St John’s Christian Secondary School | 13 | 17 | 30 |
St Joseph’s Convent (Grenville) | 70 | 70 | |
St Joseph’s Convent (St George’s) | 100 | 100 | |
St Mark’s Secondary School | 33 | 37 | 70 |
St Rose Modern Secondary School | 27 | 33 | 60 |
The Island Montessori School | 3 | 3 | |
The St George’s Institute | 8 | 9 | 17 |
Wesley College | 44 | 26 | 70 |
Westerhall Secondary School | 56 | 48 | 104 |
Westmorland Secondary School | 6 | 6 | 12 |
Happy Hill Secondary School | 48 | 49 | 97 |
Grenada Christian Academy | 16 | 19 | 35 |
Beacon High School | 1 | 1 | |
Boca Secondary School | 40 | 55 | 95 |
Total | 859 | 846 | 1705 |
Each primary school will receive its specific copy of the Grade 6 students’ assignments to a secondary school with particulars for their students only. Therefore, the ministry will not publish the comprehensive listing in 2024.
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’ performances 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 2024 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) officially commenced with the internal component in September 2023 and culminated with the external components on Wednesday, 15 May and Thursday, 16 May 2024. The assessment was open to all students who were 11 on, or before, 1 September 2023. In May 2023, the Ministry of Education re-established the policy of Universal Secondary Education, where all students writing the examinations would exit primary schools.
The CPEA comprises 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 tests in English, Mathematics, Science and Civics
Features of the external assessment include 50 multiple choice questions in:
- (A) Language Arts
- (B) Mathematics
- (C) Science
- (D) Social Studies
Students were given 75 minutes to complete each paper.
REASSIGNMENT [TRANSFER] PROCEDURES
Grounds for REASSIGNMENT [Transfer] Requests
Reassignments will only be allowed under the following strictly adhered-to grounds:
For a student to be reassigned (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 reassignments for students:
- Parents or guardians shall apply for reassignments electronically via these links:
- The applications form should be completed by 2 July 2024
- The application will be reviewed by a CPEA Reassignment [Transfer] Committee (comprising the manager, the principal and vice principal of the school), chaired by the principal.
- The school’s CPEA Reassignment [Transfer] Committee will meet and submit its recommendations to the Ministry of Education, through the Office of the Chief Education Officer no later than 2 weeks after the results are released. Recommendations received after the deadline will not be considered.
- Principals will send all recommendations for reassignments to the Ministry of Education through the Office of the Chief Education Officer, for review and approval
- All recommendations for reassignments shall be forwarded to the Planning Unit through the Office of the Chief Education Officer, for documentation and collating, which must be done within 2 business days following receipt
- 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 reassignment review and decisions
- Reassignments [Transfers] will only be granted after the Ministry of Education has reviewed and officially documented the decision
Following the review and decisions, the following steps shall be taken:
- For all approved reassignments, the parent or guardian shall be notified in writing by the Office of the Chief Education Officer [so that all requisite steps are followed]
- For all denied reassignments, 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 forms from parents and, accordingly, parents must refrain from making their requests physically at the Examination’s Unit
- Parents who DO NOT have access to electronic means of submission can contact the Help Desk via telephone (473) 440-2737 for assistance to complete the form
- Requests WILL NOT be considered after the stipulated deadline
- 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
Ministry of Education
There is an error in the analysis of the external part of the report specifically Table 1.