School Based Assessment (SBA)

In 2011, CXC implemented an SBA policy that outlines the way SBAs should be conducted. The following are key components of the policy:

• Group/team work of SBA should be encouraged and utilized where appropriate.
• Students doing more than one subject in a cognate group (for example, the Sciences) should submit one SBA per cognate group.
• Each SBA across levels should be of consistent size. Word count should not exceed 1000 for CSEC and 1500 for CAPE subjects.
• The term School-Based Assessment replaces other terms used at various levels for internal assessment.
• The use of portfolios, observations, learning journals, presentations, observations, peer evaluations and research assignments in the SBA should be endorsed and implemented.
• Students should be allowed to submit SBA electronically.
• SBAs for Mathematics and English will take effect from the revision of those syllabuses (Teaching begins in September 2016 and first examination in 2018).
• A thematic approach should be employed in the development of SBAs.

Comments 21

I am very impressed with the SBA guidelines. Your records for the 1990’s to early 2000’s will indicate my role (with others) in revolutionizing SBA Agri.Sc. My Med Thesis in 2000 was also was based on SBA at CXC with particular reference to Agri. Copy was sent on verbal request to our then chairman. Pity no one saw it fit to engage me in the conversation. My services are still available. Best wishes.

I’m curious as to how applicable the stated word count will be in the completion of the Caribbean History SBA. Furthermore, the revised syllabus still states 1500 as the word limit.

SBA seems to be drifting away from its moorings. I recall the Chief Examiner at the time for CSEC History (around 1984) telling a group of CSEC Geography Table Leaders and Markers that the SBA was not only to give the candidate credit for course work but also to ensure the whole course was taught. (The recent decision to have no choice in the examinations is said to have the same intent). Art, to my knowledge, achieves that purpose in its SBA. CSEC Geography having ONE field project as THE SBA may not do so. The policy decision to require candidates to submit one SBA per cognate area will not either. I know that Council makes its decisions based on professional advice. So the question arises, What is the SBA? Teachers see SBA as a CXC imposition and as an extra task and not as part of the assessment they normally make. SBA is not a creature created by CXC. Reports sent home every term in each form are the RESULT OF SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT. CXC, to my mind, is seeking to use that assessment but has set a common design to facilitate comparability and ensure validity but has not sold the idea. Some teachers see it as something to help the students with and some do not grade it as an assignment submitted to them as part of the course work. CXC, as an external examination body, pioneered SBA as a part of the final assessment but seems to have been overtaken by other examination bodies in refining it. Other examination bodies have moved to reduce ghost writers and plagiarism by having the assignments done under supervision. The CXC syllabuses do not guide the teachers adequately on how to deal with plagiarism, resting on the attitude teachers would normally have to receiving such work. That has not worked. The syllabuses also speak about marks for the quality of the presentation but this is countered by permitting electronic submission where spell check and grammar checks remove errors. The academic subjects could learn a lot from the technical subjects, Sports, Art and Music in making meaningful school based assessment. I think our Teacher Colleges need to spend more time on the topic of Assessment and CXC should have special discussions across all subjects on how SBA can be meaningful and less stressful for candidates and teachers.
The policy set in 2011 is not adequate.

I completely agree with everything Michael Clarke has stated. Especially the section where he states the recent decision to make the entire paper compulsory already ensures that the entire syllabus has to be taught. In addition I believe CXC policy makers must also acknowledge the changing attitudes of candidates. The SBA especially for Geography is for the most part homework. Although the teacher supervises the process, much of the report is supposed to be done at home. An increasing number of students would prefer to have ALL school based assessment actually done at school during school time. What then should I do, when a student refuses to submit drafts and then submit a dubious document that may or may not be his/her own at the eleventh hour? Principals frown on giving someone zero (It would be after all a waste of money). I also beg to ask the question “what is School Based Assessment?” If what I send home as a mark is a School Based Assessment then simply use my marks. I am sure it will be a more comprehensive assessment than just a single project on one topic. I thought the intent of the Geography project was to expose students to practical skills and the field research process concerning Geography. The decision to use group work as a means to reduce the load of the teacher can be counter productive. Not only does it fail to distinguish the differences between each candidate’s ability, the teacher is forced contend with candidates who are unable to work effectively with others, and those who would rather sit back and have some group members do all the work. As a result our load may be increased rather than reduced.

The word account of 1500 words is ridiculous for advanced level work. Once the student has completed 2 typed pages for each of the following: The literature review, the analysis and the discussion, we have already hit the 1500 mark. Most educators agree that this is not a wise decision. Is it that those at the helm are unaware of what is going on on the ground when they make these critical decisions? Are we sacrificing quality for quantity?

The office Administration syllabus says 1000 – 1200 words. I am therefore hoping that if students submit SBAs above the 1000 word count as you have stipulated will not penalize them. Not all teachers would have been privy to this information.

Some clarification is needed on the second point, “Students doing more than one subject in a cognate group (for example, the Sciences) should submit one SBA per cognate group.” As far as what we were instructed through revision panels and workshops, students doing more than one subject in a cognate group “may opt to carry out ONE investigation” (pg 55, CXC 22/G/SYLL 13). The “investigation” for the sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) is the investigative lab, formerly known as the investigative project. This is a planning and designing SBA lab carried out in Year One and executed in Year Two which is assessed under AI. Since the student may opt to carry out only one investigation, the AI grade is submitted per cognate group. If there has been any recent amendments to the process for carrying out, grading and submission of SBA, I strongly believe all teachers should be duly informed. However, if this is misinformation, I strongly urge CXC to remove this point.

As it pertains to the SBA requirement for English A and English B, teachers would like a sample of each as they make preparations for the English A 2018 SBA submission. There are still many unanswered questions on the requirements of the SBA