Since its establishment in 1972, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has been providing improved access to education and certification for both in-school and out-of-school students in the Caribbean.  In order to optimize the benefits of its courses of study and examinations to out-of-school students, CXC had to treat with the challenge of the School-Based Assessment which must be undertaken under the guidance of the teacher and is therefore designed for in-school students. In response, CXC developed the Alternative Paper to School-Based Assessment which is an external examination paper.  This article examines the value of the Alternative Paper in the examinations of CXC.  It explains how the Alternative Paper provides an alternative path for the completion and certification of a secondary school education.  The author argues that the Alternative Paper opens up, for the out-of-school person, opportunities that are similar to those from which the in-school student benefits.