With just a mere couple of days before students sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (G-SAT), the People’s Democratic Movement has taken exception to what it refers to as major changes to this year’s G-SAT examination.
It has come to our attention that the Ministry of Education is making a major policy change to GSAT this year. The leadership of the People’s Democratic Movement wishes to register our concern with regards to what is being proposed for the 2014 GSAT Examinations,” a PDM press release noted.
National Chairman of PDM, Hon. Clarence Selver, quoted what he said is a reliable source as saying that the changes being proposed for implementation with immediate effect, are being done without consultation with all the stakeholders, including the teachers and parents.
“Up until now, the GSAT Examinations were written over a three day period and all interested parties (teachers, PTA and students) prepared themselves in keeping with this time frame. What is now being instituted is for the exams to be written over TWO days. The same volume of works will still be undertaken but it is the MATHS examinations that was split in two papers will now be sat as one paper for 2 ½ (two and one half hours). This is a mammoth task for the 11 + year olds. They have not been prepared for an exam this long. We don’t think CXC has papers this long. This is far too long an examination and there are scientific reasons why it should not be done in this manner as we could see frustration, confusions, a feeling of heightened anxiety and diminishing returns as the exam progresses beyond the 1 ½ hour mark,” Hon. Selver said.
He contends there were no mock trials to inform students on time management techniques for papers with 2 ½ hours duration.
“We therefore sincerely urge the Ministry of Education to delay the change for another time when the Ministry would have consulted the stakeholder and the teachers be given an opportunity to prepare students to be examined for 2 ½ hours if it is still the decision to move in this direction. We further urge the government not to make this change simply for financial concerns in an attempt to save money and reduce the cost attached to the examinations,” said Hon. Selver.
