Misplaced PEP panic
AMID UNDERSTANDABLE anxiety and concerns about the introduction of the new Primary Exit Profile (PEP) assessment for grade six students, it would be well to put in context previous examples of strong negative reaction to planned changes in the education system, as well as current efforts to pre-empt and stave off potential hiccups.
In a Gleaner article published February 27, 1998, the then minister of education, Burchell Whiteman, was quoted as saying, “I detect all kinds of panic in areas of the society because there is a perception that when we change our transition examination from the Common Entrance to the Grade Six Achievement Test that somehow all those who have had the privilege of going to their schools of choice will be under siege because we’ll be letting in all kinds of other persons or we’re going to place them in some schools which they will not want to attend.”
In another article headlined ‘GSAT concerns raised in the west’, Karen Jones reported: “Parents of primaryschool students in western Jamaica who will next year form the first batch of children to take the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) have expressed concerns about some of the rules governing the examination.
“The parents are questioning the fact that unlike the now phased-out Common Entrance Examinations, which offered three chances, with GSAT, their children would only be given one opportunity to advance into mainstream secondary education.” In yet another article dated January 28, 1998, a teacher at a Kingston primary school expressed concerned about the widespread use of graphs in almost all of the tests, as she said this tended to confuse some slower children.
“I’m not saying graphs should not be used, because the topic is taught as a part of the curriculum, but there are too many ... . For those who are not too good at reading, it can be a turn-off,” she said.
Some parents also wanted a delay in the implementation of GSAT.
In due time, the anxiety subsided, even if some parents still wanted preferred places in some of our traditional high schools.
These types of concerns are not restricted to the primary level. When the University of the West Indies administration decided to introduce the semester system, this was not well received. Some faculties were lukewarm, others more enthusiastic, while students had fears. In The Daily Gleaner of January 23, 1990, under the headline ‘UWI students protest semester system’, Delano Franklyn, as head of the Guild of Undergraduates, was quoted as saying, despite good intentions, the semester system would result in frustration, chaos and confusion at the start of the next academic year.
Concerns about inadequate library facilities and furniture were among the issues highlighted. Well, the semester system was introduced and the UWI did not collapse, and some of the protesting students still managed to graduate with high honours.
PEP CONCERNS
In recent weeks, with regard to the introduction of the PEP, similar fears have been raised, sometimes amid a media frenzy not dissimilar to when fish in an aquarium all dive at a morsel of food.
Some teachers have cited concerns, including:
Not receiving the new National Standards Curriculum (NSC), of which PEP is a component.
I Teachers not understanding the NSC. I Teachers not knowing what to expect, i.e., what the exam would look like – that was before the June 2018 pilot performance task exam.
Teachers not having specific textbooks with which to work.
For the general public, the anxiety resided in the degree of difficulty of the new exam and the implications of placement of their children in schools of choice.
The fact is, as far back as 2016, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information placed the NSC on its website and advised schools in the usual way via bulletins of how to gain access. Schools were also given memory sticks with the material. Some teachers complained of having no Internet access or an inability to open the file on the memory sticks. But that need not be the end of efforts to retrieve the material. The ministry has a well-established network of regional offices and education officers who are there to assist. Some of those facing problems did not bother to avail themselves of available services.
CURRICULUM DISTRIBUTION
In addition, in 2017, the ministry printed and distributed to all schools and at workshops the working copies of the curriculum, and since then has printed and delivered hard official copies which they can use.
Also starting from July 2016 and subsequent to the full implementation of the NSC in September 2016 and then again over the summer of 2017, the ministry organised and held workshops for teachers. From September 2017, assessment workshops were done for school leaders and teachers of grade four to six. The attendance was initially tepid. It was not until the actual presentation of the PEP performance task pilots in June 2018 that more teachers appreciated that this was not going to be the usual multiple-choice-type exams and that students would be required, in some instances, to explain or justify their answers. That requires a whole new mindset and approach.
To date, the ministry has had 18 parent sensitisation sessions and four teacher sensitisation sessions, in addition to the more than 100 smaller sessions conducted by specialists and education officers with attendance of between 40 and 400-plus teachers at each. The ministry has also started the staging of PEP camps that are open to all stakeholders, two of which have been held so far and another four to be held before the end of October.
The ministry has also been responsive to concerns of item types presented in the pilot/mock exams, for example, rephrasing questions using language that is more age appropriate or using cultural references/experiences with which more students can identify. This is nothing new. This is what pilot exams are supposed to do. They also help the ministry to identify where more students are showing weaknesses and advising schools so that there can be more targeted teaching and preparation.
Then there are questions about textbooks and workbooks previously published to prepare students for GSAT. As the education ministry and responsible teachers have been at pains to assure parents, the content of the curriculum has not changed. What is different is the method of assessment and question types. To better prepare students for this different approach, the ministry has had published and are distributing sample booklets to allow for familiarisation.
We would do well to tamp down on the noise and encourage our teachers and students to settle down for the new exams. There will be teething pains; that is the course of life. It is predictable that PEP and the ministry will be blamed unreasonably so. It is incumbent on all of us, including the media, not to overhype minuscule problems as though these are representative of the system as a whole.
The ministry is, however, appreciative of the rich dialogue and public discourse taking place, as it allows for greater awareness and a sense of urgency in preparing our children for the future. Our children need our full support and not inadvertent psychological stress.