THE EDITOR, Sir:
RUEL REID, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, has certainly provided the basis for a long overdue debate on the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) system of student evaluation. In calling for the reform of the Jamaican educational system, Mr. Reid has highlighted the fact that more weight should be placed on the school-based assessment component "rather than total reliance on a final summative examination".
The traditional belief that written examinations are the best and most reliable indicators of a student's achievement tends to give credibility to an evaluation system that is heavily skewed in favour of a single summative external examination in each subject. But it may be argued that this type of evaluation system is grossly anachronistic in that it lacks balance and fairness.
EVALUATION SHOULD BE ONGOING
Ideally, the entire evaluation of a student's performance should be based on an ongoing process best carried out by the classroom teacher throughout the school year.
This type of evaluation system is not far-fetched. It is based on documentary evidence. For example, in calling for an end to the archaic system of external examinations, the Committee of the Secondary School Examination Council appointed in 1941 by the British government stated unequivocally "We think that ideally the examination is best conducted by the teachers themselves as being those who should know their pupils' work and ought therefore to be those best able to form a judgment on it."
I realise that this entire procedure is unlikely to take place immediately. Nevertheless, it is not too much to suggest that the "school-based assessment" component, in all subjects, should not be less than the 50 per cent of a student's final mark.
This type of evaluation system would ensure that more weight is put on the development of enquiry skills and positive attitudes and values. This is not a lowering of standards. Indeed, it can be a more rigorous, challenging and motivating process.
I, therefore, hope that the debate that Ruel Reid has sparked will not be stifled by the guardians of the old 19th century system of student evaluation, based solely on a single external examination.
I am, etc.,
RUPERT JOHNSON
r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca
Toronto, Ontario
Canada, M1C 3M7
