The Ministry of Education advises that all is in place to facilitate the sitting of the Grade Four Literacy Test on Tuesday June 30 by 58,125 students.

On Wednesday July 1, some 43,127 students will sit the Grade Four Numeracy Test. The candidates for both examinations include 14,998 repeaters.

SOME 21,223 FEMALES AND 21,904 MALES WILL SIT THE NUMERACY TEST IN 1470 CENTRES ACROSS THE ISLAND, WHILE 25,641 FEMALES AND 32,484 MALES WILL SIT THE LITERACY EXAMINATION IN 1650 CENTRES.

The Literacy Test will constitute three sections. Part A is Word Recognition and is marked out of a total of 40 marks. Part B is Reading Comprehension and is marked out of a total of 30 marks and section three is the Writing Task, which has tasks one and two. This section of the examination is marked out of a total of eight marks.

The Grade Four Numeracy Test has two papers. Paper one consists of 46 multiple choice items while paper two consists of three open-ended questions.

            The Ministry of Education is making special arrangements to facilitate approximately 253 students with special need to sit the examinations.

Chief Education Officer Dr Grace McLean has noted that teachers are aware that the tests are Curriculum-based and, accordingly, have been preparing students using the National Curriculum. She underscored the importance of students passing the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Tests in order to become eligible to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test.

Reminders to Students

1.     Students should be reminded to listen to the instruction of the Presiding Examiners and act accordingly.

2.     They should also be encouraged to be careful in representing their answers on the bubble sheets provided for Part A and B on the Literacy Test and Paper One for the Numeracy Test; as such mistakes can cause students to lose a mark for a question.

3.     Students are encouraged to answer ALL questions on the examination, as well as manage their time effectively.

4.     On the mornings of both the Literacy and Numeracy examinations, parents must ensure that their children are provided with a warm and fulsome breakfast. All students should get sufficient rest the nights before both examinations.

Security of Examination Papers

The Ministry of Education has taken precautionary measures to protect the integrity of the examination. The measures include:

-Unannounced visits to the printing facilities

-Examination papers are stored in a vault

-Packaging of examination materials is done in a sterile area under strict supervision

March 2, 2018 

RE: JAMVAT RELOCATION NOTICE 

Please be advised that the Jamaica Values and Attitudes Programme for Tertiary Students (JAMVAT) has been relocated to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI).

Please send all JAMVAT related communication to the following: 

Address: 

Ministry of Education, Youth and Information 

Tertiary Unit, Building Three 

4 National Heroes Circle, 

Kingston 4 

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (876) 612-6050-1 or (876) 612-6046-7

Statement by Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, Minister of Education

To the House of Representatives, June 16, 2015

Mr Speaker, I wish to update this Honourable House on matters related to the Education Sector.

I begin by presenting a preliminary report on the performance of students on the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) for 2015. The results will be available to the primary level institutions on the evening of Wednesday June 17, 2015.

The Grade Six Achievement Test was administered on March 26 and 27, 2015. The examination was conducted in over 1,000 schools; 38,662 students (18,399 males and 20,263 females) were eligible to sit the examination.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Student Performance improved in four of the five subject areas on which they were tested. Social Studies leads the way with six percentage-points increase above last year’s average. Members will recall that last year we adjusted the curriculum for Social Studies to make it more focused and reduced the number of test questions to make them comparable with the Science test.

Communication Tasks recorded the next largest increase –three percentage points. This is followed by marginal increases in Language Arts and Science. There was an actual decrease of 3.7 percentage points in student performance in Mathematics.

ANALYSIS -MATHEMATICS

Although the decline in student performance in Mathematics is of concern to us at the Ministry of Education, our analysis points to an area of teaching and learning that requires targeted intervention. In this year’s Mathematics test we increased the number of items that required students to reason and apply concepts.

The challenge students faced handling these items may be attributed to one of the issues with which the ministry continues to contend as it relates to the teaching and learning of mathematics – emphasis on rote learning rather than the teaching of concepts. Placing an emphasis on students remembering steps without an understanding of the underlying concepts will affect the ability of students to handle items they may consider as unusual or non- routine.

Taking this into consideration, plans are currently being put in place to provide additional levels of support to the system under the National Mathematics Programme in the following ways: –

– Increased efforts to support schools (sending and receiving) in analysing GSAT profiles and using the data to make decisions about teaching and learning including the development of remediation programmes to support incoming grade 7 students to ensure that identified gaps are treated as well as the development of programmes designed to improve the capacity of student to reason and apply mathematical concepts

– Continued emphasis on the teaching of concepts during professional development sessions facilitated for teachers at the regional and school level at both the primary and secondary levels of the education system. This will be supported by increasing the access to sample lesson plans built around these strategies

– Working closely with principals and teachers of the current Grade 5 to ensure they are equipped to make the necessary adjustments to their programmes by ensuring there is greater emphasis on concept building and to strengthen their capacity to develop and administer assessment tools which require increased levels of reasoning and application

– Continued implementation of strategies targeted at changing the culture surrounding the teaching and learning of mathematics so that all stakeholders recognise that mathematics and numeracy speak to the use of ideas not only in the classroom but in everyday life. As a result, the experiences we offer our children must include those which allow them to develop an appreciation of the applicability of the concepts they are learning not just in the classroom but in everyday life.

STUDENT PLACEMENT

Of the thirty seven thousand, five hundred and seventy five (37, 575) students who sat the examination, thirty three thousand, five hundred and forty six (33, 546)were placed in High Schools;

Three thousand, one hundred and seventy – seven (3,177)were placed in Technical Schools; eight hundred and thirty six (836) were placed in Primary and Junior High; fifteen (15)in Special Schools and none in All-Age and private institutions. Of note, is the significant decline in placements in All-Age and Primary & Junior High Schools.

Additionally, twenty seven thousand, one hundred and eighty nine (27,189) or seventy three per cent (73%) of students were placed in their preferred schools. Nine thousand, four hundred and eighty six (9, 486) or twenty five per cent (25%) of students were placed in terms of the proximity to the schools they are currently attending and eight hundred and ninety nine (899) or two per cent (2%)were placed manually, in proximity to the address they submitted.

The Ministry of Education is employing strategies to increase quality secondary school places by taking schools off shift, reducing overcrowding, and improving the quality of facilities, teaching and learning.

REMEDIAL ACTION

In addition to the remedial measures already mentioned regarding Mathematics, the Ministry of Education considers students scoring fifty per cent (50%) or less in any subject in need of intervention in order to adequately manage Grade 7 studies.

Therefore, all high schools are being directed to:

1. Make full use of the GSAT subject profiles for each student in order to determine weaknesses.

2. Undertake upgrading and remediation at the outset of Grade 7.

The Ministry is ready to provide specialist intervention to schools, particularly in areas of Language Arts and Mathematics.

The Ministry of Education is cognisant of the many challenges facing parents whose children have to attend schools that are far from where they live. Among the concerns are the availability and cost of transportation as well as the cost of lunch.

These factors sometimes limit children’s attendance to three days per week. Schools also have been concerned about how students’ learning is affected by absenteeism.

In order to alleviate these factors the Ministry of Education is committed to the manual placement in schools near their homes of GSAT students who are not assigned to any of the institutions of their choice. In addition, parents and guardians are reminded that where students have been assigned to schools far from their homes, the Ministry will facilitate requests for transfers.

The Ministry further advises that the majority of students who sat the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) this year will be placed in high schools of their choice based on their grade performance.

The Ministry continues to enhance the quality of those high schools that traditionally have not been institutions of choice, by way of improved infrastructure, expanded curriculum offerings, better trained principals and teachers as well as welfare to students.

The GSAT results are scheduled to be released the third week in June.

The Ministry of Education has commended primary school principals and teachers for their efforts in preparing the nation’s children for the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Tests to be held on June 30 and July 1, 2015 respectively.  A total of 116,250 candidates will sit the examination.

In a recent bulletin to schools Chief Education Officer Dr Grace McLean advised principals of all Primary Schools that the format of the Grade Four Numeracy and Literacy Tests remains the same as previous sittings.

The Literacy Test will constitute three sections. Section One is Word Recognition and is marked out of a total of 40 marks. Section Two is Reading Comprehension and is marked out of a total of 30 marks and Section Three is the Writing Task, which has tasks one and two. This section of the examination is marked out of a total of 8 marks.

The Numeracy Test has two papers. Paper one consists of 46 multiple choice items and students are given one hour and 10 minutes to complete this paper. Paper two consists of three open-ended questions and students are given 20 minutes to complete these items.

The Chief Education Officer further advised principals and teachers to ensure that in the midst of all other activities scheduled for the month of June adequate time is spent giving students the opportunity to master the relevant concepts.

She said on the mornings of both the Literacy and Numeracy examinations parents must ensure that their children are provided with a warm and fulsome breakfast. All students should get sufficient rest the nights before both examinations.

The upcoming sitting of the Grade Four Literacy Test, in particular, takes on added significance because this is the target year for 85 per cent of the grade-four age cohort to master literacy, which was set as a Millennium Development Goal.

Last year the country achieved 77.4 per cent mastery of literacy and 58 per cent in numeracy. While the numeracy target date has been pushed back to 2018, schools are pulling out all stops in an attempt to narrow the 7.6 percentage gap in the literacy mastery level.

Principals are being reminded that all measures should be implemented in order to reduce the costs of graduation packages. This includes facilitating students wearing their uniforms on the day of the activity. Parents would then not need to make new purchases for white dresses and suites. Other costs associated with acquiring corsages and the renting of school gowns should not be considered if these costs are burdensome to parents.

Please be reminded that graduations are not a component of the curriculum or a compulsory requirement. It is therefore important that fees associated with graduation are adequately discussed and agreed on at meetings of the Parents Teachers Associations, subject to approval by the School Board. The Ministry of Education is again instructing all School Administrators that due diligence should be ensured, so that fees associated with graduation are reasonable and that they are set following adequate consultations with all stakeholders, parents in particular.

THE MINISTRY of Education has issued a ban against students playing the game called Charlie, Charlie Challenge in schools. In a bulletin issued today, Chief Education Officer Grace McLean instructed schools to monitor students to ensure they are not allowed to play the game.

The Ministry issued the ban following reports from several schools across the island of very disruptive behaviour by students who engaged in the game. Some reports intimated that students displayed demon-possessed or paranormal behaviour while playing the game.

The Ministry further advises school personnel to immediately contact the regional offices if they need help and further support to address the situation.

The Education Ministry is also calling on parents and guardians to monitor their children carefully outside of school, as based on the reviews of Charlie, Charlie Challenge there can be serious psychological effects on children. Parents and guardians should note that the playing of this game can also result in serious physical harm to our children.