CXC established by 15 Governments and CSEC exams piloted

“This new institution forges another link in the chain of Commonwealth Caribbean integration, a chain whose links have been increasing in number and in strength over the past ten years. It is, therefore, fitting that so early in the year 1973, which augurs well to be a year of challenge to the Caribbean Commonwealth and to its institutions that the Caribbean Examinations Council should begin to function.” The Right Honourable Errol Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados, CARICOM Founding Father.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is a regional institution that is geared at developing the human capital of the Caribbean people. It provides: 

• syllabuses of the highest quality;  
• valid and reliable examinations and certificates of international repute for students of all ages, abilities and interests;  
• services to educational institutions in the development of syllabuses, examinations and examinations’ administration, in the most cost-effective way 

Its vision is “A digitally transformed enterprise providing quality, relevant and globally recognised educational services.” 

CXC® was established in 1972 under Agreement by the Participating Governments in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The institution comprises 16 Participating Countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands. 

The first examinations for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate® (CSEC®) were offered in 1979 in five subjects. Subsequent to CSEC®, CXC® has introduced a comprehensive suite of qualifications to meet the needs of the region: Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment™ (CPEA™), Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence® (CCSLC®), *Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination® (CAPE®) and the CXC® Associate Degree (CXC®-AD). 

The organisation also collaborates with countries in the Dutch Caribbean – Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten, as well as Suriname. 

Here are key milestones of the CXC®) 

• 1973 The Council holds its first meeting under the Chairmanship of Dr (later Sir) Roy Marshall, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies in Barbados 

• 1979 In May/June, CXC® conducts its inaugural examinations for CSEC® in English, Geography, History and Mathematics at General and Basic Proficiencies and Integrated Science as a pilot subject. Thirteen of the fourteen Participating Territories present 30, 276 candidates for the first examinations.  

• 1980 Grades I and II are recognised as equivalent to GCE O’Level A, B and C grades by the University of the West Indies, the University of Guyana, the Joint Matriculation Board of the UK and admissions offices in the United States and Canada  

• 1997 Candidate entries pass the one hundred thousand milestone (109,633)  
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• 1998 The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE®) is offered for the first time  

• 2007 The Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC®) is introduced  

• 2008 The Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ*) is first introduced by CXC®  

• 2011 Introduction of online delivery of examination results to candidates  

• 2012 The Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment™ (CPEA™) is first introduced  

• 2012 Grading process administered electronically for all subject offerings except English and Mathematics 

• 2017 Introduction of e-Assessment (electronic testing) for the January CSEC® sitting  

• 2018 CXC’s blockchain e-Certificate pre-pilot programme conducted  

• 2019 Launch of the CXC® Learning Hub (learning and assessment) resource website  

• 2020 Launch of the CXC® Learning Institute teacher training platform  

• 2021 Launch of CXC’s 2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan  

• 2021 CXC’s Inaugural Ministerial Summit held in Barbados In November 2021  

• 2022 Launch of the CXC® Digital Intelligence Gateway (CDIG) online platform for sharing examination performance statistics and analysis with regional Ministries of Education  

• 2022 Approval granted for CXC® to host the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) 48^th Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica in September 2023