Results obtained recently from the Evaluation and Assessment Unit of the Ministry of Education indicate that students in St. Lucia and the Caribbean continue to have a challenge with the subject Mathematics.
Now, mathematics has been a challenge for our students for several decades. It must be pointed out that the Caribbean Primary Mathematics was piloted and first produced in St. Lucia as the St. Lucia Primary Mathematics Project. Scores of St. Lucian teachers were involved and participated in the project.
There was a Curriculum Officer for Mathematics from the Ministry of Education who went to schools throughout the island to direct and supervise the preparation and teaching of Mathematics.
Many mathematics texts have been produced locally and within the Caribbean region. Over the years, I have perused several mathematics texts from our local bookstores and found that many, if not most, of the concepts in mathematics were handled quite well, and should make the teaching of Mathematics very exciting.
However, challenges in Mathematics still persist to this day. And it would appear that challenges would be with us for some time.
Now let us investigate the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment, CPEA.
In 2012, CXC introduced the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA). The purpose was to improve the quality of Education of education in primary schools.
Indeed, prior to the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment, there was the Common Entrance Examination which was mainly a pen and paper test.
Now, the CPEA is an authentic assessment model designed to assess the whole child. The assessment includes formative or continuous assessment which is done internally, and a formative or end of programme assessment which is external, or prepared and administered by the CXC.
The formative assessment activities are conducted in class, at the various schools, to help improve the student performance. And the Summative assessment activities will help to provide information about how far the student has reached in his or her ‘learning journey’.
Indeed, the Internal component of the assessment is worth 40% of the total assessment score, and the External component is worth 60% of the total assessment score.
Now, having provided some insights into the CPEA, we will look at some results.
In the 2024 examination, 2022 students were processed. The composite score ranged from 28.2% to 99.8%. Now the composite score means the percentage score for both the internal and external assessment for each student.
Now specifically in mathematics, the National Mean or National Average is 73.09. The male students obtained a national mean of 72.7 and the female students obtained a National Mean of 73.47. I would like to point out that more female students sat the examination than male students (Male 994, Female 1028). Notwithstanding, the female students scored above the National Mean while the male students scored below the National Mean. The same is true for the examination of 2023 and 2022. The female students have better than the male students traditionally.
Now time and space do not allow me to explain the reasons why girls usually outperform the boys in examinations. That will be done in a subsequent article.
It must be pointed out that a national Mean of 73.09 in CPEA Mathematics is commendable. Both the male and female students must be commended for that performance since the National Mean in the National Primary Examination has been about 40 to 50.
Now the National Mean for that examination was 69.84, with the male students achieving 69.46 and the female 70.22. That information indicates that the overall performance in mathematics at the CPEA examination in 2024 is an improvement over 2023. It is my wish that that continues to improve.
We come now to the CXC, now referred to as CSEC Examination which is a more complex examination with more subject areas to analyse. However, I will focus on Mathematics only.
The overall pass rate in Mathematics at the CXC /CSEC level in 2024 is 43.56 In 2023 it was 42.5 and 2022 38.56
Now if you follow very carefully, it should be noted that there is a 1.06% pass rate increase in 2024 over 2023.
You will also notice that the pass rate at CSEC is far from impressive compared to the situation at the CPEA.
Now what is buzzing in my head at this time is, what is happening to our students who perform creditably at the CPEA who proceed to various Secondary Schools in St. Lucia.
The question to be asked very frankly is, what is happening to the teaching and learning of Mathematics at the Secondary Schools? There is need to investigate!
Now I am not pointing my finger at any one individual or group. We need to look at or investigate the teachers of teaching, parents and the students themselves to fully understand the problem.
Now surprisingly, at the regional level, the pass rate in Mathematics is 36% and St. Lucia received a pass rate of 44%, which, in both cases is less than 50%.
In conclusion, I wish to state that in my next article I will look at the teaching of Mathematics, whether at the Primary or Secondary level.