THERE HAS been an overall improvement in the performance of Jamaican candidates sitting the Caribbean Examination Council's (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in January.
According to the CXC, with 17,643 students sitting the January 2003 exams, just over 63 per cent of the subject entries achieved Grades I to III, compared to 56 per cent last year.
Of the 12 subjects offered in the exams this year, there were improved performances in seven subjects compared to the 2002 exams, CXC reports. The most significant of the improvements was in Principles of Business, where 72.3 per cent of candidates achieved Grades I to III compared to 56.4 per cent last year. There was also a three per cent increase in candidates achieving Grades I to III in Principle of Accounts with 55 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, the other business education subject, Office Procedures (OP), saw a 15 per cent fall in candidates' performances. Only 77 per cent of candidates achieved Grades I to III in OP this year compared to the 92 per cent pass rate of a year ago. Candidates also showed improvements in Mathematics and the Sciences in this year's exams. In 2003, 54.5 per cent achieved Grades I to III in Mathematics, a 2.5 per cent increase. In Biology, 72 per cent of the candidates, compared to 70 per cent in 2002, received Grades I to III this year. Candidates taking Chemistry improved by three per cent over last year, finishing with 58 per cent of individuals receiving Grades I to III in 2003. Physics also improved with 56.7 per cent of candidates achieving Grades I to III compared to 53.6 per cent last year.
January's sitting saw a 3,041 increase in the number of candidates sitting the exam. There were 14,602 candidates last year. However, the male to female ratio remained the same. 65 per cent of the candidates were female.
