MONTEGO BAY, St James — A group of pre-eleventh graders is celebrating a sterling performance in the May sitting of the Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) mathematics examinations.

“They did well and I’m proud of them,” said their private tutor, Richard James, even as he expressed worry that the exams were becoming too easy.

Of the three eight graders that James entered for the CSEC Mathematcs examination in May, one scored a distinction and the other two scored credits. Of the 6 ninth graders, one scored a straight-A distinction and the other five, credits. Of the 17 tenth graders he entered, eight scored distinctions; seven, credits and two passes.

Citing the type of task required of the students in area of Linear Programming, James pointed out that whereas in former years the students were gave statement from which to analyse the inequalities and then draw the lines, they were now being handed the inequalities from which they could simply draw the lines, or vice-versa.

Nevertheless, James said he would continue to give the students the type of preparation that would prepare them to function in the real world.

“A thorough understanding of Linear Programming is critical in the area of Management Information systems. So it is critical to ensure that the students have really mastered it,” he said, ading tha he would not stop teaching Earth geometry even though it had been dropped from this year’s math syllabus.

James, who began his teaching career in 1989 at the Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay after graduating as a mathematics major from the University of the West Indies, was speaking to the Observer following a celebration of his students’ grades at his office at 47 Union Street.

-Pat Roxborough-Wright