By Starret D Greene
OAS Representative, St. Kitts and Nevis Country Office
The Curriculum Development Unit (CDU), within the Ministry of Education, has made public the results of an OAS sponsored Reading Assessment project. At a glance, the figures showed that 80 percent of the students in St. Kitts and 89 percent of those in Nevis were reading at and above the required Grade Levels. This is the good news, and it is right that we should applaud this outcome. For example, tests showed that about 600 students were reading at the grade 8 level (equivalent to 2nd form at high school), in St. Kitts, with 34 of them in Grades 2 and 3. In Nevis, on the other hand, there were 265 students reading at the grade 8 level, and 28 of them were in Grades 2 and 3 as well.
The not so good news is that a number of students are reading below their grade levels and these are the children, in our primary schools, who are in need increased attention to bring them up to the required standard. Specifically, the statistics revealed that 152 or 4.5 percent of the students assessed in St. Kitts were unable to read anything. In Nevis, the number was 13 or 1.2 percent of those assessed. These children, I contend, must be rescued from falling through the cracks, and should be brought immediately into a comprehensive remedial program to teach them how to read.
The results also pointed to suspected shortcomings in the reading ability of some children, and they indirectly suggested the need for sustained, but effective, remedial action by our education authorities as well. Moreover, an overall interpretation of the statistics has supported the call for closing the reading gaps within grades as soon as possible through the strengthening of existing reading programs. While the evaluation showed that the current Phonics and Reading Recovery programs for primary schools were generally meeting their objectives, it also uncovered serious weaknesses in their execution.
Thanks to the OAS project, a significant amount of the funds were allocated to the purchase of reading kits as well as other useful material that were distributed to each of the 25 primary schools in the Federation. While this material would help to address, in earnest, some of the problems in the short term, it should be understood that they are insufficient to deal with all the challenges in reading during the longer term. An important challenge that should be given preferential treatment by the Ministry of Education is the recruitment of qualified reading specialists into the primary school system as part of a comprehensive approach to improving reading standards.
The analysis that followed the assessment of 3,342 pupils in St. Kitts and 1,216 in Nevis highlighted three main areas of weakness in reading across the board namely, phonics, reading fluency and reading comprehension. It not only identified particular schools and grades where attention should be focused, but it also unearthed weaknesses especially at the Kindergarten and Grade one levels. Without pointing fingers, it is not unreasonable to speculate that the weaknesses may well have developed some where between Kindergarten and the children’s arrival in Grade one. If this is the case, our schools should pay special attention to preparing children at the Kindergarten level to begin reading when they enter first grade. In this connection, it may be argued that the building blocks for reading should be securely erected at the kindergarten level. Therefore, providing the highest quality reading support programs for children at this most critical level will go a long way in beginning to address the current reading challenges at the Grade one level in some schools.
We should be clear. The ability to read and comprehend is the basis for any child’s success in obtaining a sound education. Therefore, this most important foundation must be built and secured at every stage in our primary schools. Strengthening the teaching of phonics is only one of several approaches that can help children in learning to read. We also know that children, particularly at an early stage, learn to read from being exposed to books and when frequently read to. Therefore, it is in the interest of those who are in charge of the reading programs in the Federation’s schools to implement a combination of proven techniques and methods that would have the effect of producing substantial improvements in reading across the board.
If the Ministry of Education is going to meet its goal that by 2014, 95 percent of children in the Federation, transferring from every grade level in primary schools should be able to read at the required reading level, then swift and concerted action would be needed.
For its part, the OAS has taken quick action in supporting the evaluation of the reading challenges in the Federation’s Primary schools. In this regard, the organization deserves some credit to be one of the first social partners to provide help to the Ministry of Education in addressing one of the issues of concern in its White Paper.
I believe that the well thought out recommendations contained in the report of the Project Coordinator, Mrs. Eleanor Phillip, should be taken on board by the Ministry of Education. When fine tuned, they are most likely to bring a better balance to the state of reading in our primary schools and would also improve the shortcomings of those children who are lingering behind the curve, especially those who are not reading at all. This the Federation can achieve if all stakeholders, to include education officials, principals, teachers, parents, librarians and social partners, play their respective roles in ensuring that improving reading in our schools becomes a national priority.
In conclusion, the OAS continues to work closely with the Ministry of Education to strengthen the delivery of this important public good in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The organization’s funding for technical cooperation in member States is provided by its Special Multilateral Fund of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (FEMCIDI). It is a voluntary Fund and its sustainability remains a function of the continued contributions of all the member countries. In this connection, the continued and unwavering support of small countries contribution to the Fund, to include St. Kitts and Nevis, is absolutely critical.
