CSEC and CAPE explained for parents
The exams, the grades and the words schools use, in plain language. Every fact shows where it comes from and when we checked it.
CSEC, CAPE and CCSLC
CSEC (the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) is set by the Caribbean Examinations Council, known as CXC.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
Students in school sit CSEC in May and June. There is also a January sitting for students re-sitting a subject and for private candidates.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
CXC offers 33 CSEC subjects.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
CAPE (the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination) is also set by CXC. It is for students who have done at least five years of secondary school and want to study further.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
In Jamaica, sixth form is Grades 12 and 13, the two years after Grade 11. The Ministry of Education wants every secondary student to be able to go on to them.
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Sixth Form Pathways Programme Supervision Framework (v7, 28 April 2021), checked Oct 2026
CCSLC (the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence) is another CXC certificate. CXC first offered it in 2007.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CCSLC – Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (overview), checked Oct 2026
- CCSLC is meant to give every student who finishes secondary school a certificate.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CCSLC – Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (overview), checked Oct 2026
- The full CCSLC needs at least five subjects, and English and Mathematics are compulsory.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CCSLC – Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (overview), checked Oct 2026
- CCSLC subjects are graded Master, Competent or Developing Competence, not I to VI.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CCSLC – Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (overview), checked Oct 2026
- CCSLC can lead on to CSEC and to technical and vocational training (TVET).
Caribbean Examinations Council, CCSLC – Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (overview), checked Oct 2026
Grades and profiles
Each CSEC subject gets one overall grade, from I to VI in Roman numerals, and a set of profile grades, from A to F.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
- Grade I is the top grade: the student has a full grasp of the subject.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
- Grade III means a fairly good grasp.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
- Grade VI is the lowest grade: a very limited grasp.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
Grades I, II and III are the grades universities and colleges accept for entry. CXC has told them these grades meet their entry requirement.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
For a first job, CXC counts Grades I to IV as satisfactory.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
Profile grades show how the student did in each skill area of a subject. In CSEC Biology, for example, the profiles are Knowledge and Comprehension, Use of Knowledge, and Experimental Skills.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC Biology Syllabus (amended 2017), checked Oct 2026
A profile grade of A means outstanding and F means poor.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC – Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (subjects list), checked Oct 2026
CAPE uses seven overall grades, I to VII, with profile grades A to G.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
School-Based Assessment (SBA)
The SBA is coursework done at school and marked by the student’s own teacher.
Caribbean Examinations Council, School-Based Assessment (SBA) Handbook for Teachers (revised 2020), checked Oct 2026
Every CXC syllabus has an SBA.
Caribbean Examinations Council, School-Based Assessment (SBA) Handbook for Teachers (revised 2020), checked Oct 2026
The SBA mark counts toward the final grade. How much it counts depends on the subject, and each syllabus says. CXC checks (moderates) the teachers’ marks.
Caribbean Examinations Council, School-Based Assessment (SBA) Handbook for Teachers (revised 2020), checked Oct 2026
SBA work is spread over the two-year CSEC course. In CSEC Biology it runs through terms 1 to 5.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CSEC Biology Syllabus (amended 2017), checked Oct 2026
If a student does not hand in the SBA, the subject is reported as ungraded: there is no grade for it.
Caribbean Examinations Council, School-Based Assessment (SBA) Handbook for Teachers (revised 2020), checked Oct 2026
SBA deadlines are firm. The local exam office sets dates for schools so the work reaches CXC on time.
Caribbean Examinations Council, School-Based Assessment (SBA) Handbook for Teachers (revised 2020), checked Oct 2026
CAPE has an SBA too, and it also counts toward the final grade.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
CAPE Units 1 and 2
CAPE subjects come in Units. A subject has one Unit or two, and each Unit has three parts called Modules.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
- In a two-Unit subject such as CAPE Biology, Unit 1 and Unit 2 cover different topics. Biology Unit 1 is Biomolecules, Reproduction and Development.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE Biology Syllabus (effective May–June 2019), checked Oct 2026
- Biology Unit 2 is Bioenergetics, Biosystems and Applications.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE Biology Syllabus (effective May–June 2019), checked Oct 2026
Each Unit is about 150 hours of teaching: three Modules of about 50 hours each.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE Biology Syllabus (effective May–June 2019), checked Oct 2026
Each Unit counts on its own: CXC gives a certificate for each CAPE Unit completed.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
If a student does Unit 1 and Unit 2 of a subject in the same year, one SBA can count for both.
Caribbean Examinations Council, School-Based Assessment (SBA) Handbook for Teachers (revised 2020), checked Oct 2026
Universities often count a CAPE subject as both Units together. UWI Mona’s Law degree, for example, says applicants with three CAPE subjects (Units 1 and 2) have a distinct advantage.
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Entry Requirements (by faculty), checked Oct 2026
UWI Mona’s entry rules ask for "double Unit" CAPE subjects. Its Social Sciences degrees, for example, ask for two of them.
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Entry Requirements (by faculty), checked Oct 2026
- The CAPE Diploma needs at least six Units, including Caribbean Studies.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
- The CAPE Associate Degree needs a set group of ten Units, including Caribbean Studies and Communication Studies.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
Matriculation: what universities ask for
"Matriculation" means meeting a university’s basic entry requirements. For some UWI Mona degrees that is all you need: there are no extra subject requirements.
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Entry Requirements (by faculty), checked Oct 2026
A common rule is five CSEC passes (Grades I to III), including English Language and Mathematics. UWI Mona’s Social Sciences degrees ask for exactly that.
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Entry Requirements (by faculty), checked Oct 2026
UTech’s Bachelor of Business Administration asks for the same: five CSEC subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Business Administration (course of study), checked Oct 2026
- Some programmes name more subjects. UWI Mona’s Science and Technology degrees also want two laboratory sciences.
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Entry Requirements (by faculty), checked Oct 2026
- UWI Mona’s Medicine and Dentistry degrees name all five CSEC subjects: English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Entry Requirements (by faculty), checked Oct 2026
UWI also accepts six CAPE Units for normal matriculation.
Caribbean Examinations Council, CAPE – Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (overview), checked Oct 2026
Sixth form uses a similar rule. In Jamaica, the traditional sixth form route (Pathway 1) asks for at least five CSEC subjects including Mathematics and English.
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Sixth Form Pathways Programme Supervision Framework (v7, 28 April 2021), checked Oct 2026
Students with one to four CSEC subjects have other sixth form routes.
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Sixth Form Pathways Programme Supervision Framework (v7, 28 April 2021), checked Oct 2026
How schools set subject choices
Schools set their own subject choices on an option form. One example: Jamaica College’s published form for students moving into fourth form (2017–18) asked every student to take eight subjects.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
- On that form, five subjects were compulsory: Mathematics, English Language and three more from a first list of options.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
- For those three, students chose one subject from each of three groups.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
- The three groups were science, humanities and computing.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
- The last three subjects could come from any group.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
- A place in each chosen subject was not guaranteed. It depended on the student’s results in third form.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
- Some subjects were only for students who qualified, such as Additional Mathematics.
Jamaica College, Fourth Form Subject Selection Form 2017–18, checked Oct 2026
Questions to ask
Ask the school for its option form early, and ask which subjects are timetabled at the same time, so you know which pairs clash before your child chooses.
Ask what results your child needs to get into a subject with limited places, such as Additional Mathematics, a separate science or a foreign language.
Ask how many SBAs your child will have across all their subjects, and roughly when each one is due.
Ask which CAPE subjects the school’s sixth form offers, and which CSEC subjects and grades it asks for to join each one.
Ask whether a subject the school does not offer can be taken another way, for example at an evening class or as a private candidate.
Ask your child which subjects they enjoy, which they find hard, and why. Two years is a long time to spend on a subject they dislike.
Ask your child what jobs or courses interest them now, then look up together which subjects those need. It is fine if the answer changes later.
Mistakes families regret
Dropping Mathematics or the sciences too early. Many university programmes and the traditional sixth form route ask for Mathematics, and science careers ask for named sciences.
Choosing subjects to stay with friends. Friends’ plans change, but the subjects stay on your child’s certificate.
Taking on more subjects than your child can manage. Each subject brings its own SBA, and several can fall due around the same time.
Choosing a subject only because of this year’s teacher. Teachers move; the syllabus and the exam stay the same.
Giving up a plan because one subject is missing. A subject can often be added later, so ask the school or the university what it accepts before deciding.