CXC: No distinctions, just Grade ones

Having a Grade one with straight As in the profile for your CSEC exam results does not mean that you have achieved a distinction.{{more}}

According to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), there is no such thing as a distinction, as the term itself is not used by the examining body.

This was clarified during a stakeholder meeting with Caribbean Journalists at the Alexander Court in Barbados on Monday, March 5, 2012.

Cleveland Sam, Assistant Registrar, Public Information and Customer Services of CXC, who informed the journalists present of the ‘myth’ of the distinction, stated that CXC has never used that term to describe the results of the students.

Most of the journalists expressed their astonishment at the announcement, as most regional media houses report on students receiving distinctions, and schools, students and parents, as well as some Ministries of Education, indicate that the students with grade ones and all A’s in their profile have achieved a distinction.

CXC officials present at the meeting stated that the examination body has never recognized a grade one with a straight A profile as a distinction, but that a Grade one is a grade one. They further stated that they were unaware of the origin of the term distinction.

Journalists were also reminded of the difference between CXC (Caribbean Examination Council) and CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate). Cleveland Sam, Assistant Registrar, Public Information and Customer Services addressing the journalists briefly, stated that the mistake is often made where persons say that five CXC’s referring to the exam taken. He, however, stated that the exam taken is the CSEC exam, and, therefore, a candidate has five CSECs, not CXC which is the examining body that manages the examination.(OS)