KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information says it is pleased with the country’s outstanding preliminary results for the 2026 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams.

Describing 2026 as a strong year for Jamaica’s education system despite the impact of Hurricane Melissa, the ministry said students across the island have demonstrated progress, with significant gains in core subjects and an uptick in mathematics performance.

A total of  6,696 candidates passed five or more subjects, including both mathematics and English A.

This reflects an additional 496 candidates compared to 2025.

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr Dana Morris expressed her delight at the results and paid tribute to the hard work of students, educators, and parents across Jamaica.

“These results tell a powerful story of resilience, hard work, and the unwavering commitment of our students and educators. The gains in mathematics, moving from 34.5 per cent to 48.7 per cent in just three years, show that when we invest in and support our children, they deliver. Every single child who sat these exams has made us proud. It was not easy, but they showed up, and they did well. We are seeing the fruits of our collective efforts, and this is just the beginning,” Morris Dixon said.

In a release on Wednesday following the release of preliminary exam results, the ministry said the most compelling story of this year’s results is the improvement in CSEC mathematics.

The CSEC mathematics pass rate increased from 34.5  per cent in 2024 to 43.1 per cent in 2025 and has now reached 48.7  per cent in 2026.

This represents an overall increase of 14.2 percentage points over the three-year period and a 5.6 percentage point increase from 2025 alone.

It described the turnaround as particularly significant for Jamaica, where mathematics has historically presented challenges for students.

The sustained improvement reflects the early success of a targeted tactical approach led by the ministry as well as interventions including the EM2 (Empowerment through Mathematics and Mentorship) initiative, a partnership between The University of the West Indies, Mona, and UNICEF that provided intensive training for mathematics teachers islandwide.

While acknowledging that there have been consecutive years of gains in mathematics and local students are still above the regional average, the ministry said the results are not where it wants them to be, committing to continued work to improve performance.

The ministry noted with pleasure that Jamaica’s performance in CSEC English A also remains above the regional average with an 83.6 per cent pass rate.

The overall CAPE pass rate reached 91.7 per cent, with unit 2 achieving a 93.9 per cent pass rate, an increase of 1.6 percentage points over 2025.

The CAPE Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subject pass rate increased to 92.6 per cent, with all 14 listed STEM subjects recording pass rates above 84 per cent.

The preliminary results, released by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), are subject to further review and confirmation.