GREAT BAY--Fewer than half of the students who sat Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Mathematics across the region earned a passing grade in 2026, despite an improvement in performance, according to results announced Tuesday by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
The regional Mathematics pass rate increased to 42 per cent, four percentage points higher than last year. While the improvement marks movement in a positive direction, Mathematics remains one of the major areas of concern in the regional examination system, with the pass rate still below the halfway mark.
CXC Director of Operations Dr. Nicole Manning presented the 2026 examination performance during an official results ceremony hosted in Anguilla. Manning acknowledged the improvement in Mathematics as progress, while the figures show that the subject continues to present a challenge for a significant proportion of CSEC candidates across the Caribbean.
The results are particularly relevant for St. Maarten, where students at local institutions as well as private candidates participate in CXC examinations. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport's Division of Examinations serves as the local registration point for private CSEC and CAPE candidates.
A detailed breakdown showing how St. Maarten candidates performed compared with the regional averages had not yet been publicly released at the time of publication. The local Mathematics performance will therefore be an important figure to watch as schools and education authorities begin releasing their individual results.
Performance in English A remained considerably stronger, with a regional pass rate of 80 per cent. CXC reported that 10 territories performed above the regional English average, while 11 were below it.
Results across several other CSEC subjects were also announced. Information Technology recorded an 83 per cent pass rate, Principles of Business 81 per cent, Electronic Document Preparation and Management 79 per cent, Human and Social Biology 78 per cent, Principles of Accounts 72 per cent, Physics 69 per cent, Chemistry 68 per cent, and Social Studies 66 per cent.
More than 118,000 candidates sat CSEC examinations across the Caribbean during the May/June 2026 examination period.
The regional results place renewed attention on Mathematics education. Although the four-percentage-point improvement represents progress over 2025, a 42 per cent pass rate means that the majority of candidates who sat the subject did not achieve a passing grade.
For St. Maarten, the regional figure will provide an important benchmark once local results become available. Of particular interest will be whether the country's students performed above or below the Caribbean average in Mathematics and English A, as well as the overall performance of individual schools and private candidates. It should be noted that St. Maarten students have historically done very well.
CXC also announced strong results at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level. More than 26,000 candidates sat CAPE examinations this year, with Caribbean Studies recording a 98 per cent pass rate and Communication Studies 93 per cent.
Several other CAPE subjects recorded pass rates above 90 per cent. Information Technology recorded 95 per cent for Unit 1 and 99 per cent for Unit 2, while Environmental Science recorded 97 per cent for Unit 1 and 96 per cent for Unit 2. Physics recorded 97 per cent and 98 per cent, respectively, while Biology recorded 93 per cent for Unit 1 and 95 per cent for Unit 2.
Pure Mathematics at the CAPE level performed substantially better than CSEC Mathematics, recording pass rates of 90 per cent for Unit 1 and 95 per cent for Unit 2. Chemistry recorded 93 per cent in both units, while Entrepreneurship recorded 95 per cent in both units.
The preliminary results are now available through CXC's student results system, which lists the 2026 CAPE and June CSEC examination periods for candidates accessing their results.
