The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced sweeping changes to its School-Based Assessment (SBA) framework, saying the reforms are intended to safeguard the integrity of its examinations as the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widespread.
The changes, which follow consultations across 21 Caribbean states and territories, will take effect from the 2027 academic year.
In a statement, CXC Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Dr Wayne Wesley said the reforms are not intended to discourage the use of generative AI in education but to ensure that the Council can continue to reliably assess students’ own work.
“CXC will always act in the best interest of the region, even when that requires difficult decisions. The SBA has served Caribbean students well for nearly half a century, and we do not reform it lightly,” Wesley said.
“But the integrity of our qualifications is not negotiable. When the system that was designed to assess a student’s work can no longer reliably do so, we have an obligation to act, and to act decisively. That is precisely what this reformed framework represents.”
He added that CXC remains committed to maintaining the standard of qualifications “that Caribbean families, educators, and employers have come to trust.”
Under the new framework, SBAs will be retained for subjects that require practical, hands-on assessment, including Agricultural Science, Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education, Technical Drawing, and Food, Nutrition and Health. CXC said moderation of these assessments will be strengthened.
However, for non-practical subjects such as Mathematics, English, Caribbean History, Social Studies, Principles of Business and Information Technology, the traditional SBA will be phased out.
Candidates in those subjects will instead complete Paper 032, the existing alternative assessment, under examination conditions.
CXC said the revised Paper 032 will incorporate three changes designed to preserve extended learning. Candidates will receive their assessment topics about one month before the examination, be given additional time to complete the assessment and be permitted to bring reference notes into the examination room.
CXC Director of Operations Dr Nicole Manning said the redesigned assessment preserves the benefits of reflective learning while addressing concerns about authorship and authenticity.
“The new, deliberate and necessary design of the SBA preserves the spirit of extended, reflective assessment while restoring CXC’s confidence in authorship and authenticity,” Manning said.
She urged students, teachers and parents to support the reforms.
“A CXC qualification means something. It means something to employers, to universities, to parents, families and guardians, who have invested years of commitment and sacrifice into a child’s education,” she said.
“It is in our collective interest that we hold to this standard, which we have all worked so hard to build.”
CXC said CAPE candidates taking non-practical subjects will transition to Paper 032 from the May-June 2027 examinations.
For CSEC candidates, schools will have the option in 2027 of choosing either the traditional SBA or Paper 032 for non-practical subjects. A full transition to Paper 032 will take effect from the May-June 2028 examinations.
The Council also said existing SBA scores will continue to be transferable under the current two-year rule, while Paper 032 scores will also become transferable under the same arrangement from 2027.
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