Over the past couple of weeks, the Cayman Current has been exploring the results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams (CSECs).
This post will act as a summary of our key observations.
+ Cayman Islands Year 11 students outperformed the Caribbean average in both English and Mathematics.
On the 2020 CSECs, 83% of Cayman’s Year 11 public school students achieved Level 2 or greater passes on English, and 57% in Maths.
Around the Caribbean, 82% of students passed English and 52% passed Maths.
Regionally, the closest CSEC results to Cayman’s were posted by Cayman’s closest geographic neighbour, Jamaica, where 84% of students passed English and 56% passed Maths.
Regional CSEC results, 2020
| English | Maths | English (+/- Region) | Maths (+/- Region) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Kitts and Nevis | 86% | 60% | +4 | +8 |
| Cayman Islands | 83% | 57% | +1 | +5 |
| Jamaica | 84% | 56% | +2 | +4 |
| St Vincent | 87% | 53% | +5 | +1 |
| Caribbean | 82% | 52% | 0 | 0 |
| British Virgin Islands | 91% | 52% | +9 | 0 |
| St Lucia | 84% | 44% | +2 | -8 |
| Grenada | 83% | 44% | +1 | -8 |
+ Cayman’s scores in English and Maths were the highest in at least a decade.
+ It was the second time that Cayman’s Year 11 students beat the Caribbean average in both Maths and English.
+ Cayman’s Year 12 students also out-performed the regional average in both Maths and English.
+ For the first time on record, more than half of Year 11 and Year 12 students met the ‘national expected standard’ of passing 5 or more subjects (including English and Maths) on CSECs.
It’s also the first time that the pass rate among Year 11 students (55%) is higher than the Year 12 group (52%).
The Ministry of Education provided a number of tables and graphics on exam results:
Year 11 Statistics from 2016 to 2020
| Category | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of Student with 5 or more Level 2 subjects | 53% | 54% | 49% | 62% | 70% |
| % of Student with 5 or more Level 2 subjects, including mathematics and English | 36% | 42% | 37% | 39% | 55% |
| % of Students who passed mathematics at Level 2 | 40% | 46% | 40% | 41% | 57% |
| % of Students who passed English at Level 2 | 63% | 68% | 65% | 75% | 83% |
Year 12 Statistics from 2016 to 2020
| Category | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of Students with 5 or more Level 2 subjects | 68% | 71% | 72% | 68% | 75% |
| % of Students with 5 or more Level 2 subjects, including mathematics and English | 47% | 51% | 54% | 47% | 52% |
| % of Students who passed mathematics at Level 2 | 50% | 53% | 57% | 49% | 54% |
| % of Students who passed English at Level 2 | 70% | 73% | 78% | 74% | 86% |
Graph showing key performance Indicators (2016 – 2020)
Performances in the specific core curriculum areas for Yr 2020 are as follows:
| Subject Area Exam | English | Mathematics | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| % of Students who undertook the subject area exam and achieved a Grade I, II or II (Level 2) | 86% | 54% | 71% |
Graph showing percentage of students with one or more Level 2 passes in science (2016 – 2020)
Preliminary graduation statistics indicated below:
| Secondary School | Total Graduates | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 2 Honours | Level 2 High Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Hunter High | 110 | 48 | 10 | 38 | 14 |
| John Gray High | 194 | 83 | 19 | 69 | 23 |
| Layman E. Scott High | 18 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| Sub Total | 322 | 133 | 33 | 117 | 40 |
| The Lighthouse School | 8 | 3 students passed City and Guilds (Stage 1) | |||
| 1 Pass in English | |||||
| 1 Merit in English | |||||
| 1 Distinction in English | |||||
| 2 Passes in mathematics | |||||
| 1 Merit in mathematics | |||||
| 5 students gained ASDAN towards Independence Certificates | |||||
| Total Graduates | 330 |
*Editor’s Note: This the fourth and final entry in a series of posts exploring results on the 2020 CXC exams.
CXC results: More than half of Cayman students meet national standard
CXC results: Cayman beats Caribbean average in English, Maths
PR: Government Schools Show Overall Improvement in 2020 Exam Results