The National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results were released on Friday, with an overall increase in mathematics, and science and more importantly the 2023 performance demonstrated an increase in the number of students receiving full score in tested subject area.
Significantly, female students performed better than males across the subject areas.
Over and over again, we have stressed that gender equity has been an issue in society since the beginning of time. In recorded history, it can be found that females in many instances face issues of equity career and education but here in Guyana often times female students are better able to cope with time pressure in exams.
In a study conducted by to test the theory “females show more sustained performance during test-taking than males” a comparison was done in the performance of male and female students and the main findings showed that females were better able to sustain their performance during the test.
We must there re-educate our boys, and change how they perceive the importance of an education.
A renowned Jamaican educator, Wayne Campbell, in offering a solution to have our boys moving from not populating jails but universities and think-tanks, said that as a solution for male empowerment and the economic advancement of the entire family as a unit.
Campbell asserts that “there is also the need to urgently recast our current gender policy. One way of doing so is to incorporate more men in the discourse to shape our national gender policy…we also need to examine the possibility of creating so-called ‘boy-friendly’ curricula, assessment and pedagogical practices. We now know that boys learn differently than girls, and, therefore, we should use this knowledge to refashion teaching methodologies that speak to both sexes in the classroom.”
Therefore, NGSA must be used for what it was designed: identify strengths and weaknesses of the students entering our secondary schools, where appropriate attention can be provided and improvement to the primary schools’ curricula can cater for this also.
Notably also, this year’s exam was historical for Guyana as of the 15,273 students wrote NGSA in May, 287 were Spanish-speaking students and the papers were translated to cater for them.
Over all 3742 students scored in the first quartile, which is zero to 25 per cent; 3,743 scored within the second quartile of 25 to 50 percent; in the third quartile, 3,741 scored between 50 and 70 per cent and finally in the fourth quartile, ie 75 to 100 per cent, 3741 students were in this bracket.
We recognized that Education Minister, Priya Manickchand acknowledged that the students that wrote NGSA this year were in grade three – which is considered a “foundation year” in primary education – when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
A take away from the minister’s presentation to all student who wrote the exams, is that the promised of the same standards in terms of qualified personnel and equipment is achievable in the very near future.
To quote the minister: “Our commitment to you is that whichever school you go to, you will have the same services. Some of that is that students can cross-stream wherever they go and write as many subjects as they want wherever they go. We’re not encouraging many subjects but we’re saying your choices should not be limited by geographical location or which school you attain.”
A crucial component of the children’s success is the teachers. They also sacrifice, have their fair share of challenges, and with some being parents with obvious dreams and aspirations, their challenges but their unfettered commitment have led to their students exceeding at these exams.
Naturally, teachers on Friday felt a sense of comfort and pride that their commitment have been rewarding.
