3 secondary schools record decline in CAPE pass rates

Three of the country’s secondary schools, which have over the years performed outstandingly at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) have recorded a decline in 2018.
This is according to the Education Ministry statistics provided on Friday when the CAPE results for 2018 were announced.
On Friday, the Education Ministry officially released CAPE and the Caribbean Secondary Examinations Council (CESC) results at the National Centre for Education Resource Development, on Battery Road, Kingston, Georgetown.
According to the Ministry’s statistics, the three schools were Bishops’ High School, Mackenzie High and New Amsterdam Secondary. The Bishops’ High School moved from 99.02 per cent in 2017 to 97.82 per cent in 2018. Mackenzie High recorded a pass rate of 78.5 per cent in 2018 as against 90.55 per cent in 2017 and New Amsterdam Secondary recorded a pass rate of 82.41 per cent in 2018 and 88.73 per cent in 2017.
Moreover, the Ministry said a total of seven subjects this year were underperformed nationally when compared with last year, in units one and two.
Economics2, Environmental Science2, Law1, Physics2, Logistics and Supply Chain Operations1, Tourism2 and Financial Services Studies1 were the areas which saw a decline in performance.
Meanwhile, Agricultural Science1 and 2, Applied Mathematics2, Biology2, Caribbean Studies1, Communication Studies1, Computer Science1 and 2, Environmental Science 1, Food and Nutrition1 and 2, Geography1, Integrated Mathematics1, Pure Mathematics1, Physical Education and Sports1 and 2, Entrepreneurship1 and 2 and Green Engineering1 recorded a stable pass rate as compared with last year.

Increase
This year, a whopping 18 subject areas recorded increased performances namely: Accounting1 and 2, Applied Mathematics1, Biology1, Chemistry1 and 2, Economics1, History1 and 2, Law2, Literatures in English1 and 2, Management of Business1 and 2, Physics1, Sociology1 and 2 and Tourism1.
This year, 923 students wrote CAPE from nine secondary schools and five privately operated centres. As such, Guyana has seen an overall improvement in its pass rates as well as an increase in the number of entries for the exam.
As of 2017, the pass rate was 92.57 per cent with 851 entries from students. In 2018, the country documented 93.68 per cent passes with 923 entries from students. Last year 3923 subject entries were made whereby 4224 were made this year.
This year, Queen’s College managed to produce nine of the top 10 students at the examination.
First on the chart was Aadilah Ali who secured eight Grade Ones in Communication Studies, Integrated Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Pure Mathematics and Physics.