Dear Stakeholders Welcome to the CXC 2018 Annual Report. The Annual Report is but one of the mechanisms CXC uses to remain accountable to you its stakeholders. If 2017 was defined by the introduction of electronic testing or e-testing, then 2018 is defined by extensive stakeholder engagements. At the start of 2018, CXC selected particular groups of stakeholders for targeted attention and intervention. These were third form students and their parents, fifth form students and their parents, employers and principals. Third form students are at a critical stage of their education journey, for most of them, it is the time when they select their subjects for CSEC, and effectively this determines their academic and professional destination. It is therefore crucial that they and very importantly their parents are equipped with accurate and up-to-date information so that they make informed decisions about subject and career planning. This was the objective of the engagements with third form students and their parents. During the year under review, several engagements were held in a number of CXC Participating Countries. Similarly, fifth form students, who are at the end of high school, are at the cross roads: enter the world of work or continue with tertiary education? Often times, parents are the ones who make this decision for their children and CXC wants to ensure that they too are making decisions with the right information and knowing what options they have. The thousands of fifth form students and their parents with whom CXC interacted this year, I am confident are in a better position to make those decisions. For the first time, CXC was able to bring employers and human resources professionals together for an engagement about CXC qualifications and what they mean for employment usability. The one-day engagement was extremely interactive and provided an opportunity for mutual understanding between CXC and employers. The employers left the meeting with a more nuanced understanding of each CXC qualification and how they can be leveraged for their recruitment needs. Another critical engagement hosted in 2018 was a meeting with the Caribbean Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, CAPSS, the umbrella body for secondary school principals in the region. CXC and the principals, who represented the national bodies of principals in their respective countries, engaged in cordial discussions about issues relating to CXC programmes, specifically and education in general. In 2018, significant work was completed on the CXC Learning Hub. This revolutionary platform will redefine access to CXC learning support resources for all stakeholders. When fully operationalized, it will become a one-stop shop for all resources needed to prepare for CXC examinations. Users will have access to both free and premium resources at the click of a mouse, from CXC-produced materials such as syllabuses, school reports and past papers to partners-produced materials such as books, articles and study guides. We could not have accomplished all the great things contained in the pages of this report without the hard work and dedication of all the CXC resources persons who go beyond the call of duty to complete their tasks; the CXC staff for its professionalism, and the governance committees who support the vision of CXC. To all of you I say a big great thank you! Sincerely Mr Glenroy Cumberbatch
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