Grade 6 students in St. Vincent and the Grenadine will write their primary school exit examination this Thursday and Friday.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Education has increased the number of CPEA examination centres from 16 in the previous sitting to 57 this year.
This change has come in an effort to observe the physicial distancing protocol and to allow more students to take the CPEA final exam at their resident schools, when the exam is administered this Thursday and Friday, June 25 and 26.
The ministry said 1,920 students will sit the exam, of which 964 are males and 956 females.
The final exam comprises four multiple-choice papers: mathematics, social studies, language arts and science.
On day one, the students will take mathematics and social studies and on day two, language arts and science.
Each paper consists of 50 items and must each be completed within one hour and fifteen minutes.
The external part of the CPEA accounts for 60% of the students’ total score and the school-based assessment (SBA) or the internal component accounts for the remaining 40%.
The CPEA is a regional assessment model offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
CXC will release the results in July.
“This allows the Ministry of Education sufficient time to conduct its secondary placement exercise for the new academic year (2020-2021),” the ministry said.
“The Minister and staff of the Ministry of Education, National Reconciliation and Information wish all students success in their exam and extend sincere gratitude to all school staff and other stakeholders for their dedication to the students. The Ministry also urges all stakeholders to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment to ensure public safety.”