The Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) isn’t going anywhere for the time being.
The Ministry of Education Transformation has delayed the implementation of its continuous assessment programme to determine placement in secondary schools until the start of the 2029-2030 academic year.
Minister Chad Blackman, in a Ministerial Statement today on the Ministry’s YouTube channel, said students in the current Class 3 and Class 4 will write the Common Entrance Examination in its current format.
The proposed National Assessment Programme was set to be implemented for the 2026-27 Michaelmas term, but this week, a group of parents raised concern about some aspects of the proposal.
Blackman said students who are going into Class Two could become the first cohort to transition to secondary school under the new model in the 2029-30 academic year after three full years of preparation. Students who are going into Class One will have four years of preparation. Those going into Infants B will have five years those going into Infants A will have six years before they reach that age.
“We recognise the value of continuous assessment as part of our larger Barbados National Assessment Programme, which allows for the use of feedback within the classroom to inform teaching as well as to inform learning,” Blackman said.
“Our proposed National Assessment Programme is a modern framework designed to provide a clearer picture of student learning and performance of our education system. And rather than relying on a single point of measurement, the system will introduce carefully planned assessment checkpoints throughout the primary and secondary years, giving teachers, giving parents, giving students and schools ultimately timely information to better support every child as they go along.
“Early assessments will help identify literacy and numeracy needs, whilst later assessments will measure student progress and provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of teaching, learning and the education system as a whole.”
Blackman reiterated while continuous assessment would begin in the coming academic year, it would not replace the Common Entrance Exam.
“At this level, assessment will not be used for secondary school placement. Instead, it will help teachers monitor each child’s progress, identify learning needs early, provide timely support and begin building an individual learning profile that follows the child throughout his or her educational journey.
He said each student would be adequately prepared ahead of the change. (SAT)