The examination is structured as follows:

Paper 01

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Format: 60 Multiple Choice questions, worth 1 mark each, with questions drawn from the syllabus as follows:

Sections A and D — 20;

Section B — 20;

Section C — 20

Paper 02

Time: 2 hours

Paper Format: This paper consists of three sections, for a total of 60 marks.

Section I: The Business of Farming consists of two (2) compulsory essay-type questions from Sections A and D of the syllabus worth 10 marks each (3 marks on Knowledge and Comprehension and 7 on Application).

Section II: Crop Production consists of two (2) compulsory essay-type questions from Section B of the syllabus worth 10 marks each (3 marks on Knowledge and Comprehension and 7 on Application).

Section III: Animal Production consists of two (2) compulsory essay-type questions from Section C of the syllabus worth 10 marks each (3 marks on Knowledge and Comprehension and 7 on Application).

Paper 03

Time: 2 hours

Format: This paper consists of three sections for a total of 60 marks.

Section I: Entrepreneurship and Communication consists of two (2) compulsory structured essay questions from Section F of the syllabus worth 10 marks each (4 marks on Knowledge and Comprehension and 6 on Application).

Section II: Crop Management Technologies consists of two (2) compulsory structured essay questions from Section E of the syllabus worth 10 marks each (3 marks on Knowledge and Comprehension and 7 on Application).

Section III: Animal Management Technologies consists of two (2) compulsory structured essay questions from Section E of the syllabus worth 10 marks each (3 marks on Knowledge and Comprehension and 7 on Application).

Paper 04 (SBA)

Candidates will be required to integrate all the elements of the SBA for the Single Award in addition to the knowledge and skills in Sections E and F of the syllabus.

Therefore students will be required to complete a portfolio which comprises documentation for:

• • 10 practical skills (5 on plant production and management and 5 on livestock production and management) based on Sections B, C, E and F of the syllabus.

  • A business plan for the establishment of a sustainable agricultural enterprise based on any one of the investigative projects below (20 marks);

  • One Investigative project that demonstrates the sustainable production and management of crops (worth 20 marks) and two Cost Analyses: one for their production and another for the production of their value-added products (worth 10 marks each);

  • One investigative project that demonstrates the sustainable production and management of livestock (20 marks) and two Cost Analyses: one for their production and another for the production of their value-added products (worth 10 marks each);

Total marks on the SBA will be 120.

See School Based Assessments for further details.

Note the importance of the SBA which is worth 40% of the total grade.

Note also the weight assigned to the application of skills.

REFERENCES

Caribbean Examinations Council (2017). CSEC AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE SYLLABUS. Macmillan Publishers. London.