JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says the Government is in an advanced state of readiness for roll-out of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) in the 2018/19 academic year, which begins this September.
Addressing the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament meeting at Gordon House on March 1, Senator Reid said stakeholders are being engaged to ensure “all will be well”.
“There has been a lot of training for teachers, and the training is still ongoing. Right now, we are working with grade-four and -five teachers to ensure they understand the design of the different assessments,” he informed.
Additionally, Senator Reid indicated that mock exams for grade-five students are scheduled to take place, with sample questions being made available to the youngsters and their parents, “so that they are familiar with the likely modalities of the questions”.
“We will make sure that we journey with our students and parents right into the execution of the first set of exams,” Senator Reid assured.
PEP replaces the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) and is intended to provide a better and more complete profile of students’ academic and critical-thinking capabilities at the end of their primary-level education.
PEP is designed to focus on what the Ministry describes as “higher order cognitive skills”. It will not just assess the student’s ability to remember information, but more importantly assess their ability to think critically, effectively process information, and be creative.
CAPTION: Senator Ruel Reid, Minister of Education, Youth and Information