Hinterland schools among those reflecting noteworthy Maths improvements

Jul 03, 2017 News

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The results for the National Grade Six Assessment [NGSA] are in, and those named among the top one percent have been duly recognised. Leading the way this year is 12-year-old Saskia Twahir of the School of the Nations with a score of 524 out of a possible 529.
However, Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson, when asked about the bottom one percent on Friday when the results were announced, made it clear that there has been a turning around in the education system.
This latest development has been linked to a deliberate Mathematics intervention which has seen a phenomenal improvement across the board. This improvement has even touched those who were among the bottom one percent in previous years, Hutson informed.
“I have never been a fan of the top 10, because at the end of the day if everyone cannot come to a certain level there is no real rejoicing. I am saying this based on my own experience and where I have come from. [But] something has happened with respect to the regions we have gone to…,” he shared.
According to Hutson, when efforts were made to examine the performances of the various Regions, with keen focus on Mathematics, there was a marked improvement in some regions that customarily have not performed well. This year, he noted, the numbers are speaking for themselves.
For instance, he revealed that when the results for Region One for last year were examined, there were only six children who managed to secure a 50 percent or more pass rate in Mathematics. Although they have not made it into the top 10 this year, the results show that 172 of them have secured a 50 percent or more pass rate in Mathematics.
Last year, Region Two had 217 children passing with 50 percent or more, but this year that number has climbed to 937. Region Four was no different with its 489 who secured a 50 percent or more pass rate in 2016, since this year reflects an improvement by the 1,417 who are in that category.

Over in Region Five there were 85 pupils who gained the outlined pass rate in 2016 but there too, an improvement has been noted by the 349 who secured the pass rate.
The hinterland Region has not been left out of the equation as, according to Hutson, while Region Eight was merely able to produce one child with a 50 percent or more pass rate last year, that number, for 2017, has climbed to 62. In Region Nine, too, there were 13 children with the 50 percent or more pass rate in 2016, but that number has reached 156 in 2017.
Essentially, in 2016 the Ministry of Education recorded a 14 percent pass rate in Mathematics, but this year the result is an astounding 46 percent.
But it hasn’t only been the area of Mathematics that has recorded improved performances, Hutson assured. “This has happened across all the subject areas,” he said.
The NGSA allows pupils to be assessed in the subject areas of Mathematics, English Language, Science and Social Studies.
English has also shown some notable improvement this year when compared to 2016. Last year the pass rate was 42 percent, but in 2017 it has climbed to 54 percent.
“This is the first time in many years that we were able to get over 50 percent passes in a subject area and that is absolutely phenomenal,” Minister of Education Nicolette Henry has boasted.
In the area of Science in 2016 there was a 28 per cent pass rate and again the 2017 performance has reflected an improved pass rate of 46 percent.
And then in the area of Social Studies, this year the pass rate, though slightly improved, is 48 percent, up from 46 percent in 2016.
“This is a start and we have seen a shift and we will continue to work hard because at the end of the day we want to see these numbers continue to grow, and I believe that the plans that we have will see these numbers continuing to get better and better,” the Education CEO confidently predicted.
Over the years the Ministry has been faced with a problem of considerable weakness in some subject areas, particularly Mathematics. To address this dilemma, President David Granger had instructed the Ministry of Education to identify and address the shortcomings. With emergency funding from Government, a Mathematical Intervention Plan was introduced. This plan entailed a number of aspects such as training for teachers in content and methodology. Over 1000 teachers were trained in this regard.
This strategic movement also entailed fortnightly cluster meetings in all regions. These were done with both public and private schools, according to Hutson. He noted that while these meetings in the past were held once per month, they were increased because of consideration for the urgency with which the Ministry wanted to move.
“We decided to create a community of learners, where teachers benefited from the experiences of each other,” Hutson said.
There was also recruitment of Mathematics coordinators and monitors, training of officers and School Administrators to supervise the teaching of Mathematics, and the administering of a diagnostic assessment of pupils in the hinterland regions prior to training of teachers.
The intervening measures included enhancement of public relations, parental involvement in the education of children and acquisition of support materials for students.

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