Barbados is on the way to moving away from its decades-old Common Entrance Examination to the two-year continuous assessment model that will account for half of a student’s score when transitioning to secondary school.
The Ministry of Education Transformation outlined the new approach at a public town hall held at The St Michael School on Thursday, describing it as a shift towards evaluating more than performance on a single test day.
Two-part approach Deputy Chief Education Officer for Planning and Development, Reverend Stephen Scott, told parents and stakeholders that the new model would be a two-part approach: continuous assessment, worth 50 per cent of a student’s total mark, and standardised testing, worth the remaining 50 per cent.
“It will allow our students to demonstrate strengths beyond the pen, pencil and paper,” Scott said.
“We want to avoid situations where students do not perform well on that one day because of several factors,” he added.
Under the proposed model, primary school students in Class 3 and Class 4 will complete two group-based projects – chosen by their school from three ministry-provided options over the two-year period.
Each project will include an individual component and final marks will be submitted at the end of Term 2 of the respective year.
The standardised tests will cover English and science in Class 3 and mathematics and social studies/ civics in Class 4, administered at the student’s own school rather than at a secondary institution.
Acting Deputy Chief Education Officer Dr Denise Charles added that the approach would move beyond traditional written assessments.
“They will get a chance to sing, to dance, to utilise arts to demonstrate learning,” she said.
“We are moving away from one singular construct of students representing two plus two equals four by writing it on a paper,” she added.
It was also noted that education officers would also be assigned to each school to monitor, moderate and guide the process, reviewing completed projects alongside classroom teachers using standardised rubrics.
Parents were told they would retain the ability to select preferred secondary schools, with final placement depending on performance and available spaces across Barbados’ 22 secondary institutions.
The ministry said new syllabi aligned to the revised assessment structure are currently being finalised. (DDS)