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GTU supports discarding parts of Grade Six Assessment
President of the Guyana Teachers Union, Mark Lyte, recently expressed his support for the Government’s plans to discard parts of the National Grade Six Assessment.
Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine
Lyte said that the union is in complete support of the discard since it has “always felt that Grades Two and Four children should not be tested as they are now beginning to learn.”
He said that the idea of using these examinations for diagnostic reasons should be commended as this will take away some of the pressure school children face in a rapidly becoming “bookish” society.
Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, had in a recent interview related his disappointment in the current grading system for the NGSA. He stated that exams given in grades two and four are fostering unhealthy “exam-culture” in the nation’s young children.
In Grades two and four, pupils are required to write examinations which account for 15% of their final NGSA results. The Grade two exam accounts for five percent of the results while the Grade four exam accounts for 10%.
“What I’m saying is, let’s keep the assessment but let’s use it for diagnostic reasons,” said Dr Roopnaraine.
Dr Roopnaraine stated that such a system, will allow educators to better tackle weak areas the students might have so that these weaknesses can be corrected for the Grade six examinations.
The Minister recounted stories he has heard of pupils in Grade two taking extra lessons due to their examinations. He labeled this practice as “complete madness.”
“At Grade two you’re supposed to be enjoying school not being primed for exams,” said the Minister.
The rationale behind this move was said to be an effort to take the “exam culture” out of grades two and four. The Minister stated that priming children from such a young age for examinations can seriously hinder their social development. By discarding the grading system for the NGSA the Minister revealed that his aim is to make the children happier, “as happier children learn best.”
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