Examinations in Jamaica/Caribbean.

[Reggaedoc]

Patois is not the answer. Frankly, I think patois would be surrendering to a lower standard. Shouldn't 5 years be enough time to prepare a child for GCE, no matter what the result of the Comman entrance 5 years earlier was.

I remember there used to be a Grade 9 achievement test years ago. It was specifcally geared towards students who failed the common entrance exam, ended up in a secondary school, and needed a chance to matriculate into a traditional grammar school. Many who passed, and went on to some of our finest traditional high schools, ended up as excellent students. Indeed after 2 years on traditional education, many equalled, or even surpassed some who started high school in first form. They were probably a little behind in English, as most would have not have had the opportunity to do latin, which was a required of the first/second forms in good grammar schools up until the late 60's.
BTW I strongly think that latin/greek classics should be returned to high schools. This would probably improve the use of English in our society.

[Islandman]

Astounding and disturbing for sure.

However let's not forget that back in the day most of the students at these schools , then called "secondary" schools, did not even get the opportunity to do O' Levels. There were a few exceptions but for the most part the people I know who went to those secondary schools did not do O'levels, they learnt some kind of trade.

And of course today those schools get the worst performing GSAT students to begin with, so it would be unfair to compare thier results with the traditional high schools without taking that into consideration.

Nonethless the fact remains that we are lagging badly in the task of educating our young people.

[Me]

LOL

Well, a lot of Trinis would sign up for that one.

[HL]

...them shuud have patois as a subjick in CXC. yes?

[Reggaedoc]

This explanation helped me to get an idea of how the traditional(grammar) high schools compare with the new high schools. I saw where the headmaster at Titchfield released some stats on the past year's examination. They are not bad when one considers the economic pressure these institutions are experiencing. Some rural schools always had a tradition of excellence, Titch, Munro, Cornwall, Mannings and others formed the backbone of Jamaican rural education for more than 200 years, and it is great to see them still doing what they have done best for such a long time.

I was shocked when I read the stats of some new high schools a year ago. If my memory served me correctly, there were schools with less than 50% passes in English and mathematics on some of these exams. That was simply astounding.

[Reggaedoc]

Thanks Islandman. Excellent explanation.

[Sickko]

You know more than me..thanks for the info, i had no clue about this

[Islandman]

I forgot Common Entrance, which has been replaced (in Jamaica) by GSAT.

The programme is quite different, GSAT in my opinion is MUCH more demanding and intense than Common Entrance was. It is not a one-time exam but rather involves year-long assessment. There is also a lot more to it than just Maths, Mental Ability and English as was the case with Common Entrance.

However like the Common Entrance, the kids with the best results get thier first choice of high school.

[Islandman]

Basically CXC is the governing body that replaced the GCE

CXC CSEC General Proficiency exams are the equivalent of GCE O levels. Some people still call CSEC the CXCs.

CXC CAPE is the replacement for GCE A-levels. But unlike A levels which generally had a 2-year syllabus, there are Unit1 and Unit 2 CAPE exams. Typically you would do Unit 1 in lower 6th and then Unit 2 in upper sixth, but there is nothing stopping a student from doing Unit 1 and 2 in the same year . For some courses at the teritary institutions, only CAPE Unit 1 is required.

That is my limited understanding after having more than a few conversations with 5th and 6th for students over the last few months.

There is another CXC exam called CCSLC which looks like it might be the equivalent of what JSC was back in the day.

Check www.cxc.org for more info

[Reggaedoc]

I am a little confused by the current alphabet soup of examinations taken by students in Jamaica/the Caribbean. Could some kind forumite please inform me of the meaning of the current examinations, the ages/grades at which they are taken, which are specific to Jamaica, and which are Caribbean-wide, the purpose of these exams eg matricultion to tertiary institutions etc, acceptance by the wider world, which bodies administer these exams, and if possible equivalence to the old system i.e common entrance, JSC, GCE O and A levels. This will give me some basis to compare, albeit in a rough manner, the performance of past generations with contemporary students.
Thanks a milllion.