Nat’l exams will take place but could be pushed back to give students more prep time
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — To determine the learning loss students have experienced since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which brought about virtual learning, education officials are seeking to develop a standardized diagnostic test with a tendered vendor.
This is a national exercise that will be done as soon as those arrangements can be made.
– Director of Education Marcellus Taylor
A host of schools have since returned to full face-to-face learning, with more preparing to do the same in the days to come.
As students return to the classroom, respective schools will perform assessments.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Director of Education Marcellus Taylor said the Ministry of Education wishes to be driven by the data on how it prepares students in the years to come based on what deficits exist.
He said in order to determine that deficit, a standardized test — unlike the national examinations, which are based on a particular curriculum — must be developed, though he acknowledged the process will not happen overnight.
“This is a national exercise that will be done as soon as those arrangements can be made,” the director said.
“I can’t say when that will happen because we have to go through the process of RFP (request for proposals), selecting from different vendors, then they may have to customize it because they may only have an off-the-shelf product, and if we’re trying to do it for our education system, aligned with our curriculum, then we may have to make some adjustments to it.
“As soon as we can get something that we feel comfortable using, then we will use that and that might be in the third term, but I am not sure of that.”
A UNESCO-UNICEF report in December 2021 indicated that in low and middle-income countries, the share of children living in poverty, which stood at 53 percent before the pandemic, could potentially reach 70 percent due to the extensive closures and the ineffectiveness of remote learning.
Data on school closures in Brazil, Pakistan, South Africa and Mexico, among others, show significant learning losses among students, particularly earlier education in reading and math — the core subjects schools in The Bahamas have prioritized as the return to full in-person learning continues.
Taylor indicated national examinations will take place, but could be pushed back by several weeks to allow students more time to prepare given the adjustments they have had to make amid the pandemic.
Loading ...
