Smooth process in submitting SBAs, says minister
RECOGNISING THAT the first deadline would have passed for schools to submit students’ School Based Assessments (SBAs), education minister Ruel Reid has indicated that thus far, he has not been informed of any challenges to meet that time or any other difficulties with the process.
Last year, the SBAs of students of several schools across the country were classified as ‘ungraded’ by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). That happened because the SBA samples were not sent to the regional education body by the July 31 deadline.
The schools affected by the late submission of SBAs were Penwood and Haile Selassie High schools in Kingston, Portmore Community College in St Catherine, Mannings Evening Institute in Westmoreland, and St Vincent Strambi High School in Bull Savannah, St Elizabeth.
NO NEGATIVE REPORTS
Reid said, however, that he would be following the issue to make sure that there is not a repeat of the incident, following the April 15 deadline.
“So far, the Dashboard (a programme t hey announced t o assist schools with meeting deadlines) is working as I have not received any negative reports. I will double-check to see if there are any red flags, but as we speak, I have not received any adverse reports,” he told The Gleaner.
“What we have tried to arrange with CXC this year is to allow options. The electronic is available as well as paper based. They (the schools) will look at their own readiness and choose one (of the options). As we speak, no adverse reports have been reported to me, so I’ll do some further checks,” he said.
Michelle Wilson Reynolds, marketing consultant at the Overseas Examination Commission, pointed out that reviews and monitoring were still taking place as uploading continued.
“We are at the beginning of the process, so we are still auditing as we speak. What we are doing at this time is making sure that training is taking place, people are uploading, and we monitor accordingly. It’s ongoing, so it's a bit premature to tell you if any difficulty has arisen. We have to remember also that the Penwood issue came up after the results came out last year,” she said.