This is the time of year when exam results are announced, beginning with the National Grade Six Assessment. It was originally intended as one in a series of assessments, but continues to function for those candidates obtaining the highest marks as a secondary school placement exam. While no one seeks to detract from the remarkable achievements of the top performers, from the public’s point of view it would have been helpful to have been provided with more detailed information about how the whole cohort performed, particularly those at the lower end of the spectrum where marks are concerned.
The generalities were certainly furnished. According to CXC Director of Operations Nicole Manning Social Studies saw the greatest increase from last year in terms of results, with 62% of students receiving more than 50% in this subject area, as opposed to 58.57% in 2023. In addition, the number of candidates achieving full marks rose from 17 to 52 while the number of those receiving zero marks decreased.
English and Maths also showed an increase, although Science saw a slight decline of 1% in the total of students earning 50% or more. Where English is concerned the number of candidates receiving 50% and above rose to 66.79% this year as opposed to 64.47% last year, while 72 of these received full marks as against 61 in 2023. Again the number receiving zero marks declined.
Mathematics is always a problem area but even here a marginal increase was recorded with 40.36% of students gaining 50% or above, in comparison with last year’s figure of 39.87%. However, it was said, this represented a significant improvement when the last five years was taken into account. In the case of this subject, however, the number of candidates securing full marks declined, but on the other hand so did the number of those receiving zero marks.
In terms of general observations, Ms Manning said that the results showed a significant gap between the top performers and those who clearly had difficulty. The top quartile comprising candidates who gained above 120 numbered 3809 females and 2089 males. The bottom quartile consisting of those who scored below 60, totalled 2828. In that instance no gender breakdown was provided.
While this information was useful, it was more economical on detail than the public would have liked. A quick inspection of the geographical locations of the top performers suggests a familiar pattern with a heavy concentration in Region Four, and more particularly Georgetown. Some of the hinterland regions are not represented by performers at that level at all. What one would like to know is the geographical distribution of the bottom quartile which would reveal in a general sense where schools might be struggling and be in need of special attention. And exactly how many students earned zero marks, and were they for the most part also to be found in particular regions? And why were we not given the gender breakdown for the bottom quartile?
This newspaper also pointed out that of the 199 students listed in the top 1%, 112 or 56% came from private schools. In addition, while 55 public schools contributed to the best performers’ total, only 19 private ones did so. In other words a relatively small number of private institutions contributed a larger share of students in this percentile. Among these were Success Elementary, Green Acres Primary, Mae’s Under 12 Primary, Mae’s Annex, Marian Academy, New Guyana School, Isa Islamic Academy, School of the Nations, and Sapodilla School of Excellence. Mae’s Under 12 had 21 students securing spots in the top echelon, while the Academy of Excellence followed with 17. The New Guyana School and Success Elementary had 15 and 14 students, respectively, in the top one per cent.
Of the public schools Leonora Primary was in the forefront with 9 top performers, as well as
Cumberland Primary in Berbice with five. It may be recalled that Leonora has a tradition of doing well at this assessment.
This is hardly a result which is likely to astound the Ministry. Private schools have all kinds of advantages not enjoyed by public ones. In the first place their intake is selective, comprising students who can afford to pay the fees. Middle class and professional parents in particular have an interest in their children’s education, and most likely give them help at home, particularly where reading is concerned. Parents, therefore, are more inclined to support the teachers when issues of discipline arise.
In the second place, the heads are in charge of their schools and do not have to be constantly looking over their shoulders at the Ministry of Education or the Regional Education Department to work out what these bodies might be thinking in any given situation. As such, they have a better disciplinary framework which is more conducive to learning. And then many of them, at least, probably have better access to quality teachers for the simple reason their schools are more orderly and of course they pay their staff more.
State schools are not in any position to be selective about intake; they must accept everyone who lives in an area. Some of the children they deal with will come from challenging backgrounds, while others, as the AFC suggested, may have nutritional deficiencies which serve as an impediment to learning. But there is also a shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in the hinterland, and the Ministry has not helped itself with its bitter struggle with the Teachers’ Union. If they do not pay teachers enough, they will not attract sufficient quality staff into the system and they will not be able to raise standards across the board.
There are no short-cuts where this is concerned. Countries like Finland which always score well in the PISA assessments, pay their teachers extremely well. We can’t even manage to put ourselves on par with the anglophone West Indies, where many of our teachers migrated. Those countries cannot boast a GDP which is the envy of the world, but they do recognise the importance of paying teachers well.
Education, as is often observed, is a cumulative process, and no matter what the Ministry does there will be no dramatic improvement from one year to the next. On that basis advances at best will be incremental, building up over a longer time frame. However, even for that to happen, the framework the Ministry creates has to be of a kind to facilitate learning, and there has to be concentration on the geographical locations where performance is weakest. While there is a paucity of information available to the public where this is concerned, on the basis of what has been publicised so far that looks as if it might be hinterland schools.