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CEO hopes to leave legacy of grade level numeracy and literacy
Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson
Chief Education Officer [CEO], Mr. Marcel Hutson, much like any other CEO, is aiming to leave a legacy where children within the public education system can at least read at their respective grade level. Hutson, who recently made this pronouncement, is convinced that a programme to facilitate this process has already been set in motion.
He made reference to the recent National Grade Six Assessment [NGSA] as evidence that things are moving in the right direction within the public education system. “What we have seen, in terms of the results, is a testimony to the fact that we are in a good place to build upon what we have seen. For me personally there is a foundation and like I said to some persons before, when I exit this Ministry I would like to see…our children numerate and literate at the different grade levels. So I wouldn’t want to know that a child is in Grade Six but their reading level is that of Grade One,” asserted Hutson.
Added to this, Hutson said that “I would like to see our children matriculate, that is passing English Language and Mathematics, and moving on to higher levels of learning and being more competent in the world of work, and from what I am seeing here now there is certainly a foundation that has been established. It is important for us to now build upon that foundation and so my objectives will be fulfilled.”
Hutson in May of this year was appointed CEO after acting in that very capacity since August of last year. Before that he served as the Assistant Chief Education Officer [Primary], the main area that was targeted for improvement.
In fact it was following the announcement of the previous year’s NGSA results, which reflected daunting results, particularly in the area of Mathematics that a directive was issued by President David Granger for the weaknesses to be identified and addressed. Several millions were allotted to the Education Ministry to effect the necessary changes.
The outcome was that Mathematics was this year the most improved subject area characterised by an increase of over 30 percent in the number of candidates gaining 50 percent and more.
While in 2016 the Ministry of Education recorded a 14 percent pass rate in Mathematics, this year the result has been an astounding 46 percent.
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. In 2016 the pass rate was 42 percent but this year it has mounted 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 had boasted.
In the area of Science in 2016 there was a 28 percent 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.
The results have been heartening enough for the CEO to conclude that the results will continue to improve. “There is a battery of persons who have the capacity and if we are committed and dedicated I believe those dreams will be realised,” said Hutson as he disclosed that the motivating factor that led to the improved performance was “centred around the very things that we did with respect to the construction of an action plan.”
Part of the action plan, which Hutson spoke of, was to engage the key stakeholders including parents and teachers. Particularly important was a move to build capacity among teachers since according to Hutson, “teachers have a really important role to play to impact the kind of children we want to have.”
Although the improvement was triggered by a mandate from the Head of State, Hutson shared that “teachers were self motivated too. If you actually look at the performance that was forthcoming from some schools, some schools actually decided that we are going to do something different so that they could impact change and performance…We expected them to produce and that is exactly what they did,” said Hutson.
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