CXC Examiner May 2012 - Caribbean Examinations Council

The Caribbean ExaminerRECOGNITION OF CXC QUALIFICATIONSTestimonials of CAPE studentson their preparedness for universitySharlayne WallerHindrances and Benefits of attendingYale College with a CAPE QualificationWhen I beganstudies at collegein New Haven,C on n e c t i c ut ,it s e e med asif every otherexperience paledin comparison.However, I will not deny that I dealt with somedifficult times during my first year. Adapting toa new culture, living away from my home andthe comfort of my family, as well as makingnew friendships in an unfamiliar environment,all became stressful at times, and the stress wascertainly not made less by the fact that I also hadto adapt to a different academic system. Thoughthere were a few problems with placement intothe correct level courses, because I came to Yalewith CAPE grades, these were sorted out in atimely fashion. Once I was in class, for the mostpart, it was smooth-sailing.The level of preparation from CAPE wasmore than adequate for introductory collegelevel courses. For example, after taking CAPEFrench, I was placed into the highest level Frenchgrammar class at Yale, just based on comparisonof the two syllabuses. For chemistry, physics, andbiology, the same was true; based on the contentcovered in CAPE syllabuses, I was able to skipthe first set of introductory courses and gainacceleration credits to take higher level courses.While it is clear that the content of CAPEdid prepare me for college level study abroad,problems arose with placement into courses atYale, because the CAPE were not recognised bythe college. Students who received ‘5’s* on APlevel tests of the American education system,or ‘A’s* in A Level Examinations, were able touse their examination results to automaticallyplace themselves into the higher level courses.However, even though I performed just as well,because of our Caribbean CAPE, I was requiredto sit placement examinations for science andlanguage courses upon arriving at Yale. It wasas if I had not taken and passed advanced levelexaminations at all. This was frustrating, sinceI had put in so much work for those results,but it turned out that the placement tests wereonly a minor setback. The content of the CAPEprepared me well enough, and I was able to passthe tests easily to receive the correct placementlevels.Once in class, I was adequately challenged,and for the most part, I do feel that I was wellprepared by CAPE to take on these challenges.I completed my language requirement withinone semester of being at Yale, since I placed intosuch a high level course. It was also interestingto note that in my science courses, the materialwas similar to what was learned in preparationfor CAPE; the difference being that the topicswere explained using more advanced concepts.The college course syllabuses went much morein depth than did the CAPE syllabuses, asexpected, but it was very beneficial to haveat least encountered some of the topics inorganic chemistry, physics, and biology, thatmy colleagues coming from the Americaneducation system, in some cases, had not evenseen before!In my opinion, taking CAPE positivelyaffected the Yale College experience. Apart fromthe issue that Yale did not recognise the CAPEI sat, and therefore my CAPE grades could notbe used as a tool to exempt me from placementtests, all worked out well regarding my academicsituation in college. I did not encounter manyproblems with comprehension of concepts andtopics in class, and I received acceleration creditsfor taking the higher level courses in which Iwas placed. Moreover, I was sometimes evenat an advantage, compared to my Americancolleagues. I do hope, though, that our Caribbeanexaminations soon become more recognised incolleges in the US, and in other areas of the world,so that Caribbean students will be able to makefull use of their CAPE results.Sharlayne Waller, a former student of CampionCollege in Jamaica, won the Regional TopAward for the Most Outstanding Performancein Natural Sciences at CAPE in 2010. She willgraduate from Yale in 2014.*equivalent to Grade I in CAPE38 MAY 2012 www.cxc.org