Fixation on CSEC passes misplaced, says Education Minister

 

Education Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon says the fixation on passes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) is misplaced. 

 

With the results of the regional exams to be released in the coming days, the Education Minister says the attention needs to be placed on ensuring students are performing optimally. 

 

Minister Morris Dixon says, given the differences between institutions, the comparison is not helpful. 

 

"And I cannot judge a school that got students who aren't reading at their grade level at grade seven with a school where everybody was highly proficient in every area. I cannot. And we cannot. And as a country, we're going to have to grapple with what success looks like," she suggested. 

 

The Education Minister stressed that measures are needed to properly evaluate each institution's performance.

 

"One of the things we have to do in the ministry is figure out how we do this value added assessment of our schools so that people understand that it's not just about where you land with your CXCs. Now CXCs are important and we want to improve the outcomes over time. But we also have to be realistic about what we have and the students that we have in our schools, and we have to do the best we can to take them to as bright a future as we can. And every child is different. Every school is different. Every school I've been to has very different circumstances and a very different subset of students," she pointed out while addressing the ministry's regional leaders conference earlier this week.

 

 

Meanwhile, the Education Minister said her ministry is working to provide the resources for teachers to better support students with special needs. 

 

Minister Morris Dixon said the number of students with special needs has increased considerably over the last few years. She noted that, with more students expected to be on the autism spectrum for special attention, more resources are needed to effectively deal with the challenges posed.

 

"One of the things we're going to have to do is to figure out how we treat with these children with special needs. A lot of it has been, oh let's do more special needs institutions. And we've been doing that in the ministry and supporting primary institutions. But the reality is that the numbers are going to be exploding. And I know every teacher has experience of some child with special needs in their class, whether it's ADHD or they're on the spectrum, you're going to see a special needs child. And so that means that we have to treat with the matter differently than we would have in the past," she acknowledged.