Region Six continues upward climb

Jul 14, 2008 News

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NEW AMSTERDAM, BERBICE – Region Six showed a marked improvement at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment.
According to an analysis prepared by the Department of Education in Region Six, of the 2,941 candidates who sat the examination, 2,340 were awarded places at secondary schools. This represents an 80 percent success rate.
In 2007, of the 3,163 candidates who sat the very examination, 76 percent, or 2,393 of them, gained places at secondary schools.
For those handed places at primary tops, the figure is 601 this year, compared to 770 in 2007.
Overall, Region Six — East Berbice /Corentyne — shows a 12 percent increase in performance at the National Grade Six Assessment when compared to that of last year.
At some of the 17 secondary schools in Region Six, additional students were added from Region Five.
Of those who wrote the examination in Region Six, 142 gained places at the New Amsterdam Multilateral, 95 at the Berbice High School, 182 at J. C. Chandisingh, 180 at Berbice Educational Institute, and 157 at the Skeldon Line Path Secondary School.
The cut-off point for the top institution in Region Six, the New Amsterdam Multilateral School, is 472 marks. This is followed by the Berbice High School, with a cut-off of 458.
On the top eleven list for East Berbice/Corentyne, the Cumberland Primary produced four students, followed by the Rose Hall Estate with one, Friends Primary with two, Sheet Anchor, Gangaram, Auchlyne and Number Forty-Eight Primary Schools with one each.
The top performers are Alicia Hartman of the Cumberland Primary and Jenene Basant of the Rose Hall Estate Primary, who each gained 543 marks and were awarded places at the St. Stanislaus College and Bishops’ High School respectively.
They are followed by Melissa Asregadoo of the Cumberland Primary with 537 marks and a spot at Queen’s College. Hemant Karan, of the said institution, gained 534; Joshua Lochan of Auchlyne Primary 530, and Shavon Sharif of Number Forty-Eight Primary 530.

The three were awarded places at Queen’s College. Nazadeen Ally of Friends Primary scored 530 marks as well, but was given a place at Bishops’ High School.
Representing Cumberland Primary is Joey Munisar with 527; Farad Ally, of Friends Primary, 526; Naresh Singh of Sheet Anchor Primary 526, and Tumelia Indarsingh of Gangaram Primary School 526. Each of these students gained spots at Bishops’ High School.
The statistics reflect that 43 of the top 50 candidates gained places at leading institutions in Georgetown.
Meanwhile, 2,803 candidates were presented for the National Grade Four Assessment this year. This figure represents 340 less than 2007. This year, the absent rate was 2.4 percent, while last year it was 3.2.
An analysis showed that 33 schools improved by 4.7 percent the number of passes for the overall total.
There are 56 primary schools in Region Six; 28 of them improved the number of passes in Mathematics by 2.1 percent; 36 recorded a 7.6 percent increase in passes in English, and 31 showed a 4.6 percent improvement in Reading.
The 2008 National Grade Two Assessment saw 2,479 students writing this examination. This year the total was 103 fewer than 2007.
Thirty-three schools improved the number of passes for the overall total.
A 5.9 percent improvement in Mathematics was seen at 33 schools; 29 schools improved the number of passes in English by 1.2 percent, and 30 schools improved in Reading by 5.8 per cent. The source explained that the input and analysis of these test scores allow for the Department of Education to highlight strengths and target weaknesses, enabling schools to share good practice.
An analysis of these schools shows that the use of work books has continued to have a positive impact on the pupils’ results at the National Grade Two tests.”
To strengthen the point, the source pointed out that at the New Amsterdam Primary School, the number of passes in Reading increased by 37 percent, from 5.6 percent in 2007 to 43 percent this year.
At the Alness Primary the situation was the same, the number of passes in Reading jumped by 25.1 percent. In 2007 it was 12.8 and this year it is now 38 percent.
The said books have been distributed to all of the current grade one students who will sit the National Grade Two Assessment in 2009.
According to information from the Planning Unit of the Ministry of Education, the performance of Region Six students at the National Grades Two and Four Assessments in 2007 lifted the national literacy rate.
According to a source at the Ministry of Education, generally, the level of the schools’ effectiveness is evaluated progressively, so as to obtain information as a means of control. It is also done to identify problems, so that remedial action can be taken. At some schools in the Upper Corentyne area, a comprehensive diagnosis would be conducted.
Examination performances in the recently held National Grades Two, Four and Six Assessments were used as a variance analysis whereby performances this year were compared with performance targets set earlier.
“In cases where the variance indicates poor performance, a comprehensive diagnosis will be conducted to identify the causes of variance, so that they can be corrected.”
The source cited the availability of text books from the Ministry of Education under the GFA/FTI, the region’s literacy and numeracy projects as reasons for the percent increase reflected in all three of the Assessments. Increased supervision by Education Officers and enhanced learning environment through maintenance of school buildings and infrastructure in many priority cases were also given as causes.

The literacy and numeracy projects are supervised by the Literacy Advisor Dr. Janis Cushnie, and Early Childhood Specialist Cheryl Evans, both Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) officers attached to the Department of Education in Region Six.
The VSO officers believe that focus must be placed on childhood education.
The Department of Education in Region Six is working towards stamping out situations where slow learners are left behind or ignored by teachers.
Dr. Cushnie has been in Guyana since February 2002 and is scheduled to leave in August. Ms. Evans arrived in October 2006 and departs in October.
Dr. Cushnie says that she is satisfied with the progress of teachers and students. When she departs Guyana for her United Kingdom home, she will be comfortable knowing that more children would have grasped the concept of reading and that more teachers have the confidence and skills of teaching Reading more effectively. “In 2002, teachers did not seem to know how to solve the problem of poor reading, but now, in 2008, teachers have more answers for overcoming these difficulties.”
According to the source, “There seems to be a correlation between child friendly schools and improved achievement, because the region’s best child-friendly schools, such as Cumberland Primary, Rose Hall Estate, Friends, Sheet Anchor and Gangaram, produced top students in the region and the country. Some of them came in the country’s top one percent (181).”
Some components of child-friendly schools include strong parent/school relationship, participatory learning styles, highly stimulating learning corners, and student governments.
This August vacation, the Annual Holiday Reading Programme would be conducted for those not awarded places at discreet secondary schools.

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