Three weeks after results were first released in Trinidad and Tobago, students in many Caribbean territories including some parts of Jamaica and Guyana, are still awaiting their Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results. The reasons for the delays are still unclear, but it is very frustrating for students who are trying to registering for institutions across the region.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean Examinations Council this week reported that candidates’ performance in the science subjects offered for CSEC examinations throughout the region improved this year when compared with performance in 2007.

Agricultural Science (Single Award) and Physics showed the most significant improvement in performance with a 27 per cent and 26 per cent increase respectively when compared with the performance last year.

Eighty-four per cent of entries for agricultural science achieved grades one to three (pass marks) compared with 57 per cent in 2007. For physics, 77 per cent of the entries achieved grades one to three, compared with 51 per cent last year.

Human and social biology saw a 17 per cent improvement in performance when compared with last year. This year, 68 per cent of entries achieved grades one to three compared with 51 per cent last year.

CXC also reported that chemistry and integrated science recorded a four per cent improvement over 2007. Sixty-eight per cent of entries for chemistry achieved grades one to three, compared with 64 per cent last year while, for integrated science, 85 per cent of entries achieved acceptable grades compared with 81 per cent last year.