Students performed marginally better in this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination with the additional 11 weeks of face-to-face instruction.
That was revealed by Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw during an online press conference from Ilaro Court yesterday to announce the 2021 results of the exam also known as the Common Entrance or 11-Plus.
“It was clear to us when we carried out the readiness assessment, that we were seeing significant learning deficits among our students as many of them did not cope well in the online environment. These students would not have only been impacted in Class 3 at the start of the pandemic back in March 2020 but they also suffered further disruption in the ensuing terms,” she explained.
In the exam, which was delayed from its usual May date to July 28, girls outshone the boys as in previous years. This year, 3 336 pupils from 69 public and 29 private primary schools sat the test at 21 Government secondary schools and the Barbados Community College, a new site as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing requirements.
This was compared with last year’s 3 381 children, and 3 379 in 2019. (RA)
Subscribe now to our eNATION edition for the full story.
For the latest stories and breaking news updates download the Nationnews apps for iOS and Android.
