More options for the sitting and administering of the 2021 National Grade Six Assessment were announced last week by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand.
Manickchand said that the exam which is usually written in April could be sat in August if schools are given the green light from the Ministry of Health to reopen in January. But the Ministry is still deciding on how the exam, which is administered and marked by the Ministry of Education (MoE), will be set while taking into consideration the premature school closure caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“What we do with the exam would be determined and driven more by what happens when we come out. If we start school in January, we could write it in August. Then that would be nine months and we could probably do the full curriculum that we had intended to do. There is a whole range of things we could do. We could only do a paper one, we could not do it at all,” Manickchand explained.
Previously the Minister had said that there is constant analyzing of whether the exam should be written at all since it is a placement exam for Grade Six students to be placed at secondary schools. Options ranging from having students placed at catchment area schools have been considered. For the sitting of the exam this year, the Ministry had considered having students use their grades from Grade Five to determine which school they would be admitted to, however the Ministry’s final decision was to have the students write the exam in July instead.
When speaking on the topic, the Minister reiterated that the Education Ministry has not yet made a definitive decision. “We can do a range of things from not writing the exam as we know it and a whole set of things in the middle. Writing a part of it or even being tested on topics up to a certain level.”
Manickchand also urged the parents and teachers of Grade Six students to work with the children to complete the syllabus as this would allow them to be prepared should a decision be finalised and announced. Students are currently undergoing a blended learning approach since schools are closed except for Grades 10, 11 and 12. Those students have been asked to return to school to complete School-Based Assessments for their upcoming Caribbean Examination Council regional exams. The lower levels continue to be taught either through online platforms or by use of print material and broadcasts aired on the television and radio by the MoE.
