After GSAT
GSAT results are out!
So, what’s next?!?!
THANK GOD, whoever you perceive Him to be. The examination is done, the grades are out, and primary school is nearly completely finished. You did it, with His help.
HUG YOUR CHILD! Hug your child because their hard work and sacrifice brought them to this point. You were there; you know what they went through. Whatever the placement may be, they worked for it and achieved it. Your child NEEDS to KNOW that you love them. CELEBRATE!
BREATHE. No matter what you can do today, one thing you cannot do is relive the past, so breathe and embrace the future that lies ahead. There will be much preparation to do this summer, lots of running around and ground work:
Uniforms (rules for shoes, hairstyles, socks, school-bags)
Book lists
New students’ handbooks
Orientation schedule
After school activity planning
Learning a new route to school
With all that and more, don’t forget to…
BE GRATEFUL: Remember everyone who helped, prayed, taught, supported your family in one way or another during the difficult preparation. Whether it is a phone call, a short note, a card or a present take the time to be grateful. Teach your child to thank them!
ENJOY THE SUMMER: your baby is growing up. Don’t waste one moment of this summer holiday – enjoy as MUCH as you can, because this is the last summer before high school. Secondary school marks a new phase of life: ever-increasing independence, less confiding in parents, more confiding in friends. Teenagers! But that is for tomorrow,
for today … Rejoice!
Parents and Teachers Prayer for Students sitting Examinations
Prayer of Parents & Teachers with Students sitting Examinations
I wish GSAT would leave the earth – News/Video Link – JamaicaObserver.com
VIDEO: ‘I wish GSAT would leave the earth’ – News – JamaicaObserver.com.
“I see not only children suffering, but I see parents suffering,” he said. Results of the 2012 tests are expected to be released within a few days. The GSAT, which replaced the Common Entrance Examination in 19mathematics, Language Arts, Communication Tasks, Social Studies, and Integrated Science.
However, there have been increasing calls from parents and students to make adjustments to the exams, which have been blamed for traumatising children.
“The stress that people go through, the stress that it brings on our children, the disappointment afterwards are all hurting our kids, and I really wish that there could be some creative way of getting beyond this,” said Fuderich. “I know there are resource constrictions; I know… that there are schools that are interspersed across the island and people compete for the different schools, but somehow we have to do a better job, because the pressure that this puts on children is inexcusable,” he said.
Learn MoreThe Ministry of Education has undertaken a comprehensive review of the exam. The assessment team comprises a consortium from the University of Wolverhampton, Pearson Educational Unit and DPK Jamaica Limited.
The findings of the assessment are expected to be ready by yearend and will guide the ministry on what changes are needed to make the exam more age-appropriate.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-I-wish-GSAT-would-leave-the-earth-_11675739#ixzz1xympKfUj
Test time
We love these suggestions. Having a plan is always reassuring, no matter how young you are. its reassuring for nervous parents too!
Learn MoreLETTER OF THE DAY – Find GSAT replacement – Letters – Jamaica Gleaner – Thursday | April 26, 2012
LETTER OF THE DAY – Find GSAT replacement – Letters – Jamaica Gleaner – Thursday | April 26, 2012.
The elitist nature of the GSAT exam is reinforced by the Ministry of Education in two ways. The top performers of the exams are sent to a limited number of high-performing high schools, and candidates with the lowest scores are also sent to a number of low-performing high schools.
Therefore, from day one the selection process is flawed and plays into the socio-economic divide that is so pervasive… Education should be a catalyst to bridge the gap in society, not widen it.
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With regard to the GSAT not being a true measurement of a student’s ability, take the example of the subject, communication task. This exam is divided into two parts: an essay section marked out of 6, and the other, a short answer section which requires students to fill out information using a given prompt, also marked out of 6.
Determining average student
In quite a number of instances, a student can score six out of 12 in communication task, and that candidate could be seen as being an average student by virtue of scoring 50 per cent. However, that same candidate can omit to do the essay section or may have scored zero in that section.
This scenario happens more often than not and can be interpreted by a given school that the student entering their institution is an average student in that subject.
Of course, this would be far from the truth, as many of those ‘average’ students could be, and should be, classified as functional illiterates.
This article speaks of diversity, and testing techniques.
What do you think should be the hallmarks of a new system for student placement in our secondary schools?
Learn More