The Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate is for the high school level. This examination marks the end of secondary-level education in the Commonwealth Caribbean countries. The examination evaluates and attests to the student’s academic accomplishment after secondary education.
CSEC Proficiencies
The CSEC subjects are assessed for certification at three proficiency levels –
- Basic
- General
- Technical
Basic proficiency provides knowledge, skills and abilities related to the completion of secondary level studies. While the general and technical proficiencies lay down the base for students to go for further studies or enter the workplace.
Eligibility
Candidates at public secondary schools are eligible to sit for the CSEC examination. Candidates from private educational institutions above the age of 10 are eligible. Also, candidates whose age is at least 16 years are also eligible to sit for this examination.
CSEC Subjects Offered
The CXC offers a total of 33 subjects, out of which at General Proficiency there are 28 subjects, and at technical proficiency, there are 5 subjects being offered.
Candidates can sit for any number of subjects they want to in a single sitting.
Subjects are:
- Additional Mathematics
- Agricultural Science (Double Award)
- Agricultural Science (Single Award)
- Biology
- Building Technology
- Caribbean History
- Chemistry
- Clothing & Textiles
- Economics
- Electronic Document Preparation & Management
- English A
- English B
- Food & Nutrition
- French
- Geography
- Home Economics Management
- Human & Social Biology
- Information Technology
- Integrated Science
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering Technology
- Music
- Office Administration
- Physical Education & Sport
- Physics
- Principles of Accounts
- Principles of Business
- Religious Education
- Social Studies
- Spanish
- Technical Drawing
- Theatre Arts
- Visual Arts
Registration and Fees
In-school candidates and private candidates must register by their schools or educational institutions by December.
Private candidates must fill out a CSEC entry form that can be obtained from the council or Ministry of Education of that region. Fill out the form and submit it by September if you want to appear for the CSEC exam held in January, and submit the form by November for the exam in May/June.
In order to sit for CSEC examinations, candidates must pay a certain amount of fee that varies.
Examination Dates
The CSEC examination is held in January for resit and private candidates and in May or June for in-school candidates and private candidates.
To know more about the dates and deadlines, visit the official website of the Caribbean Examinations Council
**Resit candidates are those who during the exam registration, want to reuse his/her SBA (school-based assessment) score. Candidate must have an SBA score of 50% or more.
**Private Candidates are those that are registered as part-time centres and also include an educational institution that is not recognized by the Council as a full-time educational institution.
CSEC Grading System
A 6-point grading system is being used. Candidates are given overall grades and profile grades. The overall grades range from I to VI, and profile grades A to B.
Overall grades – I, II, III, IV, V, VIProfile grades – A, B, C, D, E, F
The overall grades I to III at the general and technical proficiencies are considered valid for entry into 4-year study programmes at universities and for admission into teachers’ colleges, community colleges, and any higher education institution.
Overall Grades Description
Grade I-Candidate indicates an ample understanding of the main concepts, knowledge, skills and abilities required by the curriculum
Grade II- Indicates a good understanding of the chief concepts, skills and competencies needed by the curriculum
Grade III- Indicates a fairly good understanding and knowledge of the key concepts, skills and abilities required by the syllabus
Grade IV- Indicates an average understanding of the main concepts, skills and abilities needed by the syllabus
Grade V- Indicates a very limited understanding and knowledge of the key concepts, skills and competencies required by the syllabus
Grade VI- Indicates a very limited understanding and knowledge of the main concepts, and competencies needed by the curricula
Profile Grades Description
Profile grades include alphabetic grading from A to F.
- A refers to Outstanding
- B indicates Good
- C indicates fairly good
- D indicates moderate
- E refers to weak
- F means poor