Dear Editor,
There has been talk in recent times of limiting 5th form students to ten subjects at the CSEC exam. Once again I believe that we are focusing on the wrong end of the spectrum. Without seeing much data, I am going to go out on a limb and make two assumptions. Firstly, that most of the students that have failed Maths and English did not take more than ten subjects at the CSEC exam. Secondly, that the group of students that does take ten or more subjects, is a small one, comprised of our stronger students with the most support. Any data to support or refute these claims would be welcome.
With that said, I think that our focus should really be on our numerically and verbally challenged students. These students are funnelled annually into the work world with grades 4 and 5 in English and Maths having ‘graduated’ high school. A creative and innovative approach to getting these pass rates up to over 85% would have a far reaching impact on the social and economic fabric of our country.
Here are my thoughts to help us achieve these improved results:
- meals and transportation for our more vulnerable students;
- retraining our English and Maths teachers.
Yours faithfully,
Carole Fletcher
