Education specialist calls for different approach to testing students in light of COVID-19 disruption

 

Education specialist Dr. Rebecca Tortello has said the education sector must rethink the approach to testing students after almost two years of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Dr. Tortello said she is concerned about plans to go ahead as usual with assessments such as the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) tests.

 

"We have a very test-based system that really works better for certain types of students than others, and it gets even more high stakes as you get older," she pointed out.

 

The education specialist noted that many children have suffered significant learning loss over the period of the pandemic and the authorities are asking too much of students and their families at this time. 

 

"Now we see CXC has announced a timetable which is almost as if we're going on business as usual, starting at the end of April into early May for those students - keeping in mind that those students sitting in fifth form, many would not have been in regular face-to-face contact or perhaps regular contact through various modalities with their teachers for the very large part of the last two years," she outlined.