A lack of critical thinking skills is being pinpointed as the reason for the difficulties faced by students who sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) mathematics exam last week.
Students have been complaining through social media that they were unable to answer many of the questions asked and saying they believe they have failed the exam.
The Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA), has also received complaints from members that the exam covered material which is not in the prescribed CSEC syllabus.
Vice Principal and math teacher at Denbigh High School, Geoffrey Douglas, says he does not believe the test went outside the syllabus.However, he says students without critical thinking skills would have been at a disadvantage.
“ I think based on the structure of the questions, it will pose problems for students who are unable to reason and apply the mathematical knowledge. Because the questions were not obtained in the usual format … however, I do not think, based on what I saw, that there was anything outside of the syllabus.”
Douglas added that he has been noticing a shift in the testing strategy by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) in recent years and suggested that changes be made to how mathematics is taught.
“I am suggesting that nationally, we focus more on problem solving techniques, we focus more on troubleshooting. Because this is not a technique that is found in textbooks. Instead of asking students to solve the problem and give the solution, I am suggesting that we give the students the solution - maybe an incorrect solution, maybe with errors that are common and ask the students to identify the errors and then ask them to give the correct solution,” he said.
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