NG CAPE Subjects and CCSLC Benchmarking

NP/OUP Caribbean Conference 2015

Accra Beach Hotel| 19 November 2015

Headline TextSUBHEADING TEXT

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Underpinnings

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• Attributes of the CARICOM Ideal Person

• UNESCO Pillars of Learning

• Wagner’s Seven Skills

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CAPE Growth

• Subjects/Units growing• Offer 60 Units in 30 Subjects in 2014

• Candidate growth

• 29,379 candidates in 2014 compared with 28,228 in 2013

• Six New Generation Subjects

30 subjects60 Units

29, 379 candidates

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 Subjects  Number of candidates taking NG CAPE Subjects in 2015

Unit 1 Unit 2 Total 

Entrepreneurship 1388 71 1459

Tourism 524 17 541

Physical Education & Sport 495 1 496

Digital Media 208 70 278

Agricultural Science 225 32 257

Performing Arts 50 58 108

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International Benchmarking the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) by the United Kingdom National Academic Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC)

Objective

To facilitate greater understanding, and wider recognition of the CCSLC qualification

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Scope

to conduct an international benchmarking of the CCSLC by comparing it to programmes of similar level in four well-established education markets:

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Methodology

• desk-based research• critical comparative analysis• in-depth questionnaire• face-to-face meeting with CXC officials• site visits to schools offering CCSLC

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Findings

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CCSLC competencies•Working in groups•Critical thinking •Dealing with diversity and change•Handling conflict•Positive self-image

•Social and citizenship skills •Commitment to ethical and moral societies•Subject-specific competencies

Australia capabilities 

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• The Australian syllabus for mathematics includes money and financial matters, which could be considered similar to the Conscious Consumer module of the CCSLC that covers currency, household bills and taxes.

• The Australian syllabus also includes data representation and interpretation, which is also an element of the CCSLC Data Handling module.

• CCSLC requires students to apply Pythagoras’ Theorem to find unknown side in right angled triangles in the module Spaces in the Environment. Similarly, Pythagoras’ Theorem is a requirement in the Australian Foundation to Year 10 curriculum in Queensland at Year 9

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UK

•As with the CCSLC, Mathematics and English are core; •Science is core in the UK’s Key Stage 3.•Key Stage 3 students also take several other subjects, such as: modern languages, Music, Physical Education, Art and Design and Citizenship •Assessed via school-based assessment

CCSLC

Mathematics and English are core; Science is not core is available as a CCSLC subjectFrench or Spanish, Social Studies and developed specifically for CCSLC; in addition, Music, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts and Physical Education and Sport are available under the Creative and Expressive Arts categoryAssessed both by SBA and external exam

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• In the CCSLC’s Measuring Around Us module, students are required to find the perimeter and the area of regular and irregular plane shapes. This relates to the Ontario Grade 9 (Applied) requirement for students to solve problems involving the areas and perimeters of composite two-dimensional shapes.

• CCSLC students are also required to calculate the volume of a cylinder, cube and cuboid, which is also evident in the Ontario Grade 9 (Applied) syllabus.

Findings – subjects

The comparative analysis has revealed  clear  similarities  between  the CCSLC  curriculum  in  English,  mathematics,  integrated  science  and modern languages with subjects in the first two or three years/grades of secondary education in schools in Queensland, Australia; Ontario, Canada; United Kingdom and New York, United States.

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English

• CCSLC English syllabus compares well to the reference points identified in each education system: Year 9 in Australia, Grade 9 and 10 in Canada, Year 9 in the UK and Grade 9 in the USA.

• CCSLC English is more indicative of the standards expected in the Australian Curriculum Foundation to Year 10 syllabus at Year 9. Evidence of this is in the CCSLC Exploring New Frontiers module, CCSLC students are required to give feedback to peers on the accuracy and clarity of instructions they produced to conduct a particular task.

• In relation to the UK, overall, the learning outcomes of the CCSLC English syllabus compare well to the Key Stage 3 attainment targets in reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary, and spoken English.

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Mathematics Covers similar content to that expected in:•Australia at Year 9•Canada in Grade 9•UK at Key Stage 3 •Grade 9 and 10 in the USA“The breadth of subject content for mathematics in the CCSLC is broadly similar to that found in Australia, Canada and the UK in the first two or three years of secondary education.”

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Science Syllabus compares well to the general science skills covered in:• Queensland (Year 9)•Ontario (Grade 9 and 10)• UK (Key Stage 3)• USA (Grade 9-10) syllabuses

These skills include planning and designing experiments, predicting and hypothesizing and following scientific report formats.

Aspects of the Working like a Scientist module of the CCSLC Integrated Science syllabus are similarly found in the Australian, Ontario and UK syllabuses.

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Languages With the exception of the USA, where languages are not part of the school syllabus, comparing the CCSLC modern languages syllabus to:

• Queensland Curriculum (Year 9)• Ontario syllabus (Grade 9)•UK at Key Stage 3

…has identified comparability in similar areas such as producing different language forms, delivering presentations and performing role-play.

“Consistency in standards is sufficiently assured through the moderation processes in place to ensure the validity of the assessment and the

appropriateness of the marking.”

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Findings – assessment 

“The CXC has also developed an efficient means of external assessment and marking, having successfully incorporated testing of a fair range and level of skills

within the multiple choice format.”

“In conjunction with the school-based assessment, the external examination provides a fair assessment of the prescribed programme objectives.”

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“…the subject syllabuses are clearly underpinned with a core set of objectives related to the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will help prepare students for higher level secondary studies in the CXC participating territories but also provide them with a range and breadth of skills that should enable them to integrate with secondary studies in the four international systems examined.”

Findings – assessment 

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Conclusion

“UK NARIC confirms that individuals certified in the CCSLC demonstrate the overall knowledge, skills and competencies required to enter secondary education at Key Stage 4 (Year 10) in the UK,  Year  10  in  Australia,  Grade  10  in Ontario  and Grade  10  in  the USA.”

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