The naming of Antigua and Barbuda’s top performer on the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations has been pushed back, after three leading high-scoring candidates opted to request reviews of their lower qualifying grades. As the country’s education authorities confirmed this week, all three candidates have already secured an exceptional 20 Grade One marks, a result that puts them far ahead of other test-takers across the nation. Two of the standout students completed a combined 21 subjects each, ending their initial scoring round with 20 Grade Ones and a single Grade Two per candidate. The third candidate undertook the enormous academic load of 24 total subjects, and earned 20 Grade Ones alongside four Grade Two marks. According to Clare Browne, the Director of Education for Antigua and Barbuda, all three leading candidates are preparing to officially challenge their Grade Two results, which could shift the final count of Grade One marks each candidate holds. These adjusted scores will ultimately decide which student claims the title of the nation’s top CSEC performer for this testing cycle. In response to the pending review outcomes, the Ministry of Education has chosen to hold off on any official public announcement, waiting to release the final result until all challenge requests have been processed and final scores are confirmed. Browne also addressed public confusion around the ministry’s scoring policies, clarifying that while education officials identify high-achieving students to recognize their performance, the ministry does not release a full ranked list of all students who participated in the examinations. “We identified the top-performing students, but we don’t rank students from one to 10, or one to whatever number we have,” Browne explained to reporters. For the time being, the three candidates remain the highest-performing CSEC test-takers in Antigua and Barbuda this cycle, all tied with 20 confirmed Grade One marks. The official announcement of the overall top student will only go out after the grade reviews are finalized and adjusted results are verified by education authorities.