ANTIGUA OBSERVER- The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) announced the results of its May-June 2025 examination cycle during an official release ceremony hosted by the Government of the Cayman Islands yesterday morning.
Dr Wayne Wesley, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of CXC, revealed a notable 3% improvement in overall student performance in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. The percentage of students attaining five or more subjects — including Mathematics and English, which is the benchmark for university matriculation and employment — rose from 41% in 2024 to 44% in 2025.
“Every child can and will achieve their true potential,” Dr Wesley stated. He emphasized that five subjects, inclusive of Mathematics and English, continue to serve as the critical success metric to determine students’ readiness for higher education and entry into the workforce.
CXC’s Director of Operations, Dr Nicole Manning, shared detailed insights into subject-area performances across the region.
She highlighted improvements in several core areas as follows: English Language continued to be a strong performer with an increase in Grade One passes, maintaining its position as the top subject over the past three years; Mathematics showed slight improvement in General Mathematics and more significant gains in Additional Mathematics; Social Studies: while Grade One performances improved, Dr Manning expressed concern over an overall reduction in performance, especially given that Social Studies remains CXC’s largest subject cohort; Physical Education and Sport recorded its best performance in three years, with 52% of candidates receiving Grade One; and Music saw increased registration and improved results, with Grade One passes rising from 74% to 86%, a development Dr Manning described as particularly valuable for the region’s tourism and cultural sectors.
“These improvements are encouraging,” said Dr Manning. “We must continue to build on this progress, especially in literacy and numeracy. The regional strategies being implemented are clearly beginning to bear fruit.”
CAPE Examinations Show Mixed Results
Turning to the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), Dr Manning reported positive trends in many areas, especially among the newer subject offerings. However, she noted that performance in some subjects remains inconsistent.
Pure Sciences: General improvement in Biology (Units 1 & 2) and Physics across both units. Chemistry and Environmental Science saw mixed results, with increases in Unit 1 but decreases in Unit 2.
Mathematics: Gains in Applied Math, Integrated Math, and Pure Math in both Units 1 and 2.
Design and Technology / Green Engineering: Achieved a 100% pass rate in both units.
Performing Arts and Visual Arts: Notable improvements, with Performing Arts Unit 1 achieving a 100% rate of acceptable grades.
Languages: Spanish showed improvement across both units, while Communication Studies and Literature in English experienced declines.
Business Subjects: Accounting Unit 1 saw gains over the previous year, although Unit 2 recorded a decline.
Dr Manning identified “major movers” as subjects with the highest candidate populations or the most significant year-over-year changes, and expressed concern over the reduced registration numbers for traditionally high-enrollment subjects such as Communication Studies and Caribbean Studies.
We are not where we want to be just yet,” she admitted, “but the indicators are moving in the right direction.”
Observer Media congratulates all students across the Caribbean who participated in the 2025 CSEC and CAPE examinations and commends the efforts of educators and ministries of education working to improve academic outcomes across the region.
More than 100,000 candidates from across the region registered to sit over 600,000 subject entries in this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), and Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) examinations.
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