St. Georges College. - File photoGlenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
MORE THAN half the number of high and secondary level schools in the island have been rated well below a C level, according to an analysis based on recently released results of the National Council on Education's (NCE) 2003 CXC examination performance review.
The rating means that the schools, some of which have plummeted from an A grade in previous years, are performing well below expectations. A few like St. George's College, and Jamaica College in Kingston are in a 'crisis' situation, researchers say.
Dr. Dennis Minott, academician and member of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Education, conducted further analysis of the percentage passes of students in 16 subjects to arrive at an overall performance average (OPA) and assigned a numeric and letter grade to each school.
According to the data, St. George's College, Priory High, Garvey Maceo, and Happy Grove are among the schools rated F, with Jamaica College, Tivoli Gardens and Titchfield high schools among those receiving an E grade.
Several other prominent traditional high schools received grades hovering between C, D and D+. These included Ardenne, Calabar, Excelsior, St. Hilda's, Meadowbrook, Merl Grove and St. Andrew high schools. Kingston College received a C+ rating.
Several among the upgraded high schools, however, were named as high flyers scoring D grades. These included Old Harbour, Maggotty, May Day and Porus high schools which were on par with or eclipsed some traditional high schools in their regions.
But while the National Council on Education (NCE) has endorsed the document there were some reservations.
"We would caution, and are concerned that the range of subjects covered as well as the number of subjects (16) would have affected the final score of a school. The range of subjects for example could lead to a gender, or school-type, bias. There are schools, for example, which may have more students doing industrial arts, than food and nutrition. This is why the Council's position is to use mathematics and English as the predictor given that all students must sit those examination," NCE executive Ruth Morris said.
Still, the Council admits a chronic overall failure to meet the nation's critical minimum targets for performance in education.
The NCE, which has responsibility for monitoring a Ministry of Education White Paper target of "five per cent annual improvement in the number of students passing English and mathematics in secondary examinations certificate", says there has been a decline in the numbers.
"The indications are that the consistently low levels of performance in CSEC severely threaten the realisation of the foregoing targets," an NCE report outlined.
PRINCIPALS TO BLAME
But while some educators have pointed to rampant indiscipline and poor learning attitudes among youth as main reasons behind poor performance, researchers have laid blame for the present meltdown solidly at the feet of principals and other school heads who they say have failed to effectively guide their schools.
"I believe the principal problem is leadership and vision, that is what is lacking," Dr. Minott said. "Resources cannot be the answer, because many of the schools which are in trouble are very rich schools in terms of the resources available to them. It (ratings and results) is one attempt to recreate and focus (hopefully on an annual basis) towards a culture of accountability."
In light of the trend the Council has committed itself to research to deal with the situation.
"We have a proposal to undertake a study to determine the factors which impact students performance at the secondary level, and that should be ready before June 2005, in time for the next set of results," Ms. Morris said.
Points for consideration in the investigation include the contribution of principals as an effective administrator and instructional leader, teacher competence and stability, parents' attitude and educational level and the learning environment.
