The small Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia has solidified its position as the regional leader in primary-level education after securing first place in the 2026 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA), outperforming all other participating jurisdictions across every tested subject area, and claiming the top two individual rankings in the entire region.
According to official data released by Saint Lucia’s Chief Education Officer Beverley Dieudonne, the island nation’s national average score climbed steadily from 77.24% in 2025 to 79.26% in this year’s assessment, marking measurable improvements across all four core subject areas tested. Breaking down the results, Language Arts saw the most notable average increase, rising from 79.95% to 81.63%. Science posted an average score of 80.09%, Social Studies hit 80.07%, and Mathematics also recorded a modest uptick from 72.45% to 74.69% — though the subject still remains the lowest-performing area for test-takers across the country.
Dieudonne attributed the consistent across-the-board gains to the education system’s targeted intervention strategies, which are shaped and refined by ongoing assessment data. “This tells us that the targeted interventions we introduced, guided by assessment data, are producing positive results,” she noted.
Standing out among institutional performers once again this year is Saint Lucia’s Montessori Centre, which counted four students among the region’s top 10 highest scorers. Leading all test-takers across both the nation and the wider Caribbean is Emerald Alfred of the Montessori Centre, who earned a near-perfect score of 99.2%. Close behind in second place regionally is Alexander Charles of the Augier Combined School, scoring 99.0% — just 0.2 percentage points behind the top mark.
Danny Butcher, Minister in the Ministry of Education, extended congratulations to all 1,890 Saint Lucian students who sat for this year’s assessment, emphasizing the importance of celebrating young academic achievement. “We must celebrate our students,” he said.
Geographically, District One posted the highest district-level average score at 84.66%, followed by District Seven with 81.18% and District Two with 80.73%. A long-running performance gap between genders persists across the nation, as female students outperformed their male peers in every subject area. The average score for girls reached 80.47%, while the average for boys came in at 77.93%.
Education Minister Kenson Casimir confirmed that the ministry takes this performance gap seriously, and is moving forward with expanded, targeted support to boost male students’ outcomes starting in early primary education. “This ministry continues to take that gap seriously rather than treating it as a footnote, and we will be expanding literacy engagements and other interventions specifically targeted at boys in the early primary grades,” Casimir stated.
The full list of Saint Lucia’s top-performing CPEA students is as follows: 1st place (99.2%): Emerald Alfred (The Montessori Centre); 2nd place (99.0%): Alexander Charles (Augier Combined School); 3rd place (98.8%): Angelina Chreiki (The Montessori Centre); 4th place (98.6%): Ahil Auguste (Camille Henry Memorial School); 5th place (98.2%): Aria Gustave (Balata Combined School) and Iouanola Finisterre (Dame Pearlette Louisy Primary School); 7th place (98.0%): Grace Herman (Augier Combined School) and Nathan Laurencin (Carmen Renee Memorial School); tied for 9th place (97.8%): Camiya Fame Donaie (River Doree Combined School), Caitlyn Lenya Montoute (Anse La Raye Primary School), Anton D’Auvergne (St. Aloysius R.C. Boys’ Primary School), Ervell Beaubrun (Soufrière Primary School), Liam Freeman (Camille Henry Memorial School), Brielle Mayers (Carmen Renee Memorial School), Danielle Farida (The Montessori Centre), and Newt Leonce (The Montessori Centre).