The Ministry of Education plans to focus on solving
problems of quality control within the school system.
Education Minister Andrew Holness told an RJR editors forum on Thursday that the Ministry was developing a system to ensure that students moving from primary to high school, were competently literate and numerate.
The system is part of the strategic plan for education transformation.
Mr. Holness said at first contact with the education system in Grade One, students would be assessed through an individual literacy profile which would inform educators of their competencies and identify any learning problems at an early stage.
He said another diagnostic test would be administered in Grade Three, which is aimed at determining whether children are ready to become literate.
He added that the ministry was moving towards making the Grade Four literacy test a national certificate.
"The test would now be administered under the same basis as the Grade Six Achievement Test (G-SAT). It would be national (with) everyone doing it at the same time. It will be invigilated nationally and marked nationally, so you would be better able to compare scores and schools. This is the first quality control check that everyone will be held accountable for, from the principal, to the teachers to the parents," he said.
Mr. Holness said students who failed the literacy exam would not be allowed to sit G-SAT.
"No child who is not certified by the Grade Four standard as literate would be able to sit G-SAT. That's a fundamental change. So if a child failed the test in Grade Four they would advance to Grade Five but would have to re-sit that literacy certificate. If they pass it they move on to sit G-SAT. If they fail at this stage they would still move on to Grade Six and there, re-sit the certificate exam. If they pass they will sit the G-SAT exam but if they fail they will not be allowed to move on into the secondary system," said Mr. Holenss.
He added that these students would then be funnelled into a special needs programme to be developed by government and a special education policy was currently under review.
Education Minister Andrew Holness told an RJR editors forum on Thursday that the Ministry was developing a system to ensure that students moving from primary to high school, were competently literate and numerate.
The system is part of the strategic plan for education transformation.
Mr. Holness said at first contact with the education system in Grade One, students would be assessed through an individual literacy profile which would inform educators of their competencies and identify any learning problems at an early stage.
He said another diagnostic test would be administered in Grade Three, which is aimed at determining whether children are ready to become literate.
He added that the ministry was moving towards making the Grade Four literacy test a national certificate.
"The test would now be administered under the same basis as the Grade Six Achievement Test (G-SAT). It would be national (with) everyone doing it at the same time. It will be invigilated nationally and marked nationally, so you would be better able to compare scores and schools. This is the first quality control check that everyone will be held accountable for, from the principal, to the teachers to the parents," he said.
Mr. Holness said students who failed the literacy exam would not be allowed to sit G-SAT.
"No child who is not certified by the Grade Four standard as literate would be able to sit G-SAT. That's a fundamental change. So if a child failed the test in Grade Four they would advance to Grade Five but would have to re-sit that literacy certificate. If they pass it they move on to sit G-SAT. If they fail at this stage they would still move on to Grade Six and there, re-sit the certificate exam. If they pass they will sit the G-SAT exam but if they fail they will not be allowed to move on into the secondary system," said Mr. Holenss.
He added that these students would then be funnelled into a special needs programme to be developed by government and a special education policy was currently under review.
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