The issue…
Jamaica is the eighth poorest country in the Caribbean. Streaming is the method used to assign students to their secondary school following the 6th grade. Streaming is scored based on a combination of Survey of Living Conditions which quantifies income quintiles and GSAT scores which is a standardized exam. The amount of money spent on education in Jamaica suggests that the country feels that education is very important. The Survey of Living Conditions is supposed to take into account the family life of each child to consider the needs of the child. Ideally, lower performing students would receive remedial support and the additional services needed to promote those students as they transition from the primary grades to secondary school. Likewise, better performing students would be provided with a more challenging education that will enhance their educational experience. Well, the already well-preforming students continue to do well while lower preforming students either drop-out or they attend school but perform well below grade level. The real problem is that the underachieving students do not receive additional support.
In writing the Jamaican government says that it tracks social issues in order to put money into the education of disadvantage students (the so called Survey of Living Conditions) but I could not find reports of show that this is the case. (Note: the article by Beverly Carson was likely printed in 2002.)
The Background…
Jamaica is the eighth poorest countries in the Latin American-Caribbean region. Surprisingly, no other country in the region spends more overall on education as a percentage of GDP than Jamaica. The Jamaican government values education at all levels viewing it as a public good to be sought and supported by government funds to the highest extent possible. This positive attitude about school by families and government has led to high enrollment rates of 97% in primary education and 78% in upper secondary education.
Interestingly, students are assigned to their upper secondary school based on a combination of Survey of Living Conditions which quantifies income quintiles and GSAT scores which is a standardizes exam. Beverley Carlson (n.d.), of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, explains “At the end of primary education (grade 6) students are tracked into different types of secondary schools of clearly different levels of quality. Children of poor families in the rural areas and the inner cities receive a low quality education that the high enrollment rates mask. It is here that the problem of school dropout in the later years of secondary education begins, with poor quality teaching and poor attendance.” Carlson go on to explain that “Despite the high attendance rates in the primary grades, there is a serious problem in with reading abilities with only 30% of students reading below their grade level by grade 6.”
Jamaica’s streaming system places students of like primary scores in the same secondary education programs. In other words all of the poorer performing/lower income children are assigned to the same schools while higher performing/middle and upper income students are assigned to the same schools. Carlson explains that in 2001 this lead to schools in which only 10% of students passed the math general proficiency exam assessment in one school and 98% of students passed the same exam in another school. This disparity is very alarming.
Reference
Carlson, B. (n.d.). Social Assessment: Reform of Secondary Education in Jamaica. Retrieved from http://www.cepal.org/ddpe/publicaciones/sinsigla/xml/2/13802/social%20assesmentfinal.pdf
Jamaica is the eighth poorest country in the Caribbean. Streaming is the method used to assign students to their secondary school following the 6th grade. Streaming is scored based on a combination of Survey of Living Conditions which quantifies income quintiles and GSAT scores which is a standardized exam. The amount of money spent on education in Jamaica suggests that the country feels that education is very important. The Survey of Living Conditions is supposed to take into account the family life of each child to consider the needs of the child. Ideally, lower performing students would receive remedial support and the additional services needed to promote those students as they transition from the primary grades to secondary school. Likewise, better performing students would be provided with a more challenging education that will enhance their educational experience. Well, the already well-preforming students continue to do well while lower preforming students either drop-out or they attend school but perform well below grade level. The real problem is that the underachieving students do not receive additional support.
In writing the Jamaican government says that it tracks social issues in order to put money into the education of disadvantage students (the so called Survey of Living Conditions) but I could not find reports of show that this is the case. (Note: the article by Beverly Carson was likely printed in 2002.)
The Background…
Jamaica is the eighth poorest countries in the Latin American-Caribbean region. Surprisingly, no other country in the region spends more overall on education as a percentage of GDP than Jamaica. The Jamaican government values education at all levels viewing it as a public good to be sought and supported by government funds to the highest extent possible. This positive attitude about school by families and government has led to high enrollment rates of 97% in primary education and 78% in upper secondary education.
Interestingly, students are assigned to their upper secondary school based on a combination of Survey of Living Conditions which quantifies income quintiles and GSAT scores which is a standardizes exam. Beverley Carlson (n.d.), of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, explains “At the end of primary education (grade 6) students are tracked into different types of secondary schools of clearly different levels of quality. Children of poor families in the rural areas and the inner cities receive a low quality education that the high enrollment rates mask. It is here that the problem of school dropout in the later years of secondary education begins, with poor quality teaching and poor attendance.” Carlson go on to explain that “Despite the high attendance rates in the primary grades, there is a serious problem in with reading abilities with only 30% of students reading below their grade level by grade 6.”
Jamaica’s streaming system places students of like primary scores in the same secondary education programs. In other words all of the poorer performing/lower income children are assigned to the same schools while higher performing/middle and upper income students are assigned to the same schools. Carlson explains that in 2001 this lead to schools in which only 10% of students passed the math general proficiency exam assessment in one school and 98% of students passed the same exam in another school. This disparity is very alarming.
Reference
Carlson, B. (n.d.). Social Assessment: Reform of Secondary Education in Jamaica. Retrieved from http://www.cepal.org/ddpe/publicaciones/sinsigla/xml/2/13802/social%20assesmentfinal.pdf