A student of the Mountain View Adventist Academy has passed 20 subjects — 17 Grade I’s and three Grade II’s — in the 2016 Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Secondary Certificate Examinations (CSEC).
The student is a Guyana-born Eric Febuary, who was educated entirely in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Two students obtained 14 subject passes, three students passed 13 subject passes, 19 students passed 12 subjects and 36 students passed 11 subjects, according to preliminary results released by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.
The Girls’ High School was the top performer in SVG in this year’s examination, returning a 97.19 per cent pass rate, followed by the St. Vincent Grammar School, with 94.29 per cent.
The St. Joseph’s Convent Kingstown had a 91.76 per cent pass rate; St. Martin’s Secondary School; 87.62 per cent; Thomas Saunders Secondary School, 86.75 per cent; and St. Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua, 80.58 per cent.
Six school recorded pass rates of 80 per cent or more, namely: Girls’ High School (97.19%), St. Vincent Grammar School (94.29%), St. Joseph’s Convent Kingstown (91.76%), St. Martin’s Secondary School (87.62%), Thomas Saunders Secondary School (86.75%), and St. Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua (80.58%).
Eleven schools had “creditable pass rates” between 60 and 80 per cent. They are: Bishop’s College Kingstown (79.13%), Mountain View Adventist Academy (76%), West St. George Secondary (70.33%), Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia (66.11%), Union Island Secondary School (63.98%), Bequia Community High School (63.41%), Bethel High School (61.8%), Sandy Bay Secondary School (61.48%), Adelphi Secondary School (61.36%), North Union Secondary School (60.7%), and Bequia Seventh Day Adventist School (60.38%).
This year, 2,805 candidates were registered for the examinations. Of these, 1,337 were private candidates and 1,468 were school candidates — from 26 secondary school.
The school candidates sat 10,164 subject entrees in 34 subject areas. Approximately 75 per cent of the subject areas were awarded Grades I-III, the same figure as in 2005, which was 4 percentage points higher than in 2014.
This year, 12.3 per cent of the passes were at Grade I level, 28.52 per cent at the Grade II level, and 33.84 per cent at the Grade II level.
This compares to 18.22 per cent, 36.38 per cent and 45.4 per cent last year.
The St. Martin’s Secondary School recorded the most significant improvement, moving from 73.51 per cent in 2015 to 87.62 per cent this year, an increase of 14.11 percentage points.
In the press release on Wednesday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Morine Williams said:
“The Minister of Education, National Reconciliation and Ecclesiastical Affairs congratulates all students and extends gratitude to the principals and teachers and staff at all school for their support of the students. We are cognisant of the fact that outcomes in education are measured, not only in quantitative terms, but also in qualitative terms; therefore, the value added to the lives of all the students, the top performers as well as those whose performances can be improved, is greatly appreciated.”
Williams said that all principals continue to work diligently in conjunction with the ministry in support of their school’s effectiveness and students’ success.
As a former educator, let me congratulate all successful candidates but remind them (and you) that “grade inflation” and “social promotion” make these figures meaningless.
A pass rate does not necessarily translate into a high learning outcome; a high grade, even an A, does not necessarily translate into a high level of learning.
Beng a teacher — having graduated from a faculty or school of education — does not translate into effective student learning if only because the standards for teacher training are so low, indeed the lowest for any college or university programme in North America.
If you don’t believe, me just Google “teacher training” or “schools of eduction.”
Yes! This young guy is probably very intelligent and we can all hope is able to visit a great higher education institution. In the Caribbean just as “common Core” in the USA, these loser governments are dumbing-down our future generations. They will not be able to compete with Russia, Germany, China, Iran, Singapore and other countries that place a much higher value on education.