The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced significant changes to its School-Based Assessment (SBA) programme, introducing a new assessment framework designed to protect the integrity of regional examinations as the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow.
According to a CXC press release, the changes will affect both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) programmes and will begin rolling out in the 2027 academic year.
CXC said the reforms are the result of extensive consultations with stakeholders across 21 Caribbean countries and territories and are intended to ensure that examination results continue to accurately reflect students’ own knowledge and abilities.
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Wayne Wesley stressed that the Council is not opposed to students using generative AI as a learning tool. Instead, he said the changes are aimed at preserving confidence in the assessment process as technology rapidly transforms education.
“CXC® will always act in the best interest of the region, even when that requires difficult decisions. The SBA has served Caribbean students well for nearly half a century, and we do not reform it lightly,” Dr. Wesley said.
“But the integrity of our qualifications is not negotiable. 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. That is precisely what this reformed framework represents. CXC® is cleareyed about the challenges of our time, and we are resolute in our commitment to the standard that Caribbean families, educators, and employers have come to trust.”
Under the new framework, School-Based Assessments will continue for subjects that rely heavily on practical or project-based work, where hands-on demonstrations are considered essential to measuring students’ skills.
These include Agricultural Science, Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education, Technical Drawing, and Food, Nutrition and Health. CXC said moderation of these assessments will also be strengthened.
However, for subjects that are primarily theory-based, the traditional SBA will gradually be phased out.
The change will affect subjects including Mathematics, English, Caribbean History, Social Studies, Principles of Business and Information Technology.
Instead of completing a traditional SBA, students in these subjects will sit Paper 032, which is currently used as an alternative assessment.
CXC said the revised Paper 032 will retain elements of extended learning while being completed under examination conditions. To support that approach, students will receive their assessment topics about one month before the examination, be given additional time to complete the assessment, and be allowed to bring reference notes into the examination room.
CXC Director of Operations Dr. Nicole Manning said the redesigned assessment balances meaningful learning with greater confidence in the authenticity of students’ work.
“The new, deliberate and necessary design of the SBA, preserves the spirit of extended, reflective assessment while restoring CXC’s confidence in authorship and authenticity.”
She also urged students, parents and teachers to continue protecting the value of CXC qualifications.
“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,” Dr. Manning said.
“It is in our collective interest that we hold to this standard, which we have all worked so hard to build.”
CXC also outlined the timetable for implementing the new assessment model.
For CAPE candidates in non-practical subjects, Paper 032 will replace the traditional SBA beginning with the May-June 2027 examination session.
At the CSEC level, schools will have a transition period. In 2027, schools will be able to choose whether their students complete the traditional SBA or Paper 032. Beginning with the May-June 2028 examinations, however, all CSEC candidates in non-practical subjects will be required to use Paper 032.
The Council also confirmed that existing SBA marks will continue to be transferable under its current two-year policy. Beginning in 2027, Paper 032 scores will also qualify for transfer under the same two-year rule.
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