BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Ministry of Education is seeking to modify its students assessment practices in St. Kitts and Nevis with a view of assisting those students who are falling through the ‘cracks’.
This move is in keeping with recommendations made by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the Education Policy Review document that was recently handed over to the two Education Ministers in the Federation.
The problem stems from the way the curriculum is structured, and according to Minister of Education Hon. Shawn Richards, in some instances students may be disadvantaged when taking tests because the “full curriculum” was not covered.
“So while it is that the teachers at the various schools have an idea of what is to be taught within a particular school year, you may have difference across the schools,” Richards said.
He explained that when persons take a view of the curriculum, it highlights a need for standardization, noting that there might not be a detailed curriculum but rather something that is done on a piece of paper.
“If that is indeed the case, when you have the Test of Standards for example, it may be a little unfair to some students who would not have had the benefit of the full curriculum.”
Chief of Education Planning, Dr. Neva Pemberton said one of the general findings of the policy review is that assessment practices need to be reviewed and updated. To do this, she noted that several questions must be asked, including “why are we assessing and what should be the purposes of assessment”.
“As it stands right now,” she added, “we have summative assessments at the end of every year, but we don’t do enough early on in the year to catch those students that are struggling to put the right type of support mechanism in place.”
Dr. Pemberton stated that the review recommends that the Government should implement an “overarching assessment policy that would allow us to say maybe we need to change the way we do things and incorporate some assessments early on in the school year at different points”.
Last year it was highlighted that a number of education institutions in the Federation were not carrying out regular assessments of students.
Principals at some of those institutions had told a local media agency that they would only assess students at the end of the term or, in some instances, at the end of the school year.
Asked if they would mandate regular assessment, Dr. Pemberton explained that the Ministry does not know how the policy would look, but it would fit into their “overarching policy” on education.
The UNESCO undertook a review of the education system in St. Kitts and Nevis and recently handed over the final report with various recommendations to government officials.
