School-based assessments (SBAs) were introduced to improve the validity and authenticity of public examinations across the globe. However, associated with this addition were issues related to teacher involvement, lack of effective material support, and student competence. There were also issues related to reliability and validity in SBAs which led to the conclusion that while reliability is a pre-condition for validity, it is also in tension with it.

This study investigated the perceptions, preparedness of, and the challenges encountered by teachers of English as they implemented the CSEC English SBA in Jamaican secondary schools for the first time. Data collected through a survey of 124 randomly selected teachers of English and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-Tests, ANOVA, and crosstabulations showed that teachers had a predominantly negative perception of the CSEC English SBA. This negative perception was strongly and positively associated with the teachers’ being unprepared to implement the English SBA.