Reid stands by PEP mock results; clarifies ministry's position

Education Minister Ruel Reid said that results from the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) mock exam have been misconstrued, noting that it will have no bearing on next year's actual examinations.

Speaking at the ministry's Heroes Circle offices in Kingston yesterday, he pointed out that based on the analysis done, he is not worried about PEP's value.

"Let me state categorically that the ministry stands by the report based on the analysis that was done of the preliminary results of the Performance Task in September of this year. We maintain, also, that the information presented on the combination of the 'standards met' and 'standards nearly met' scores was deliberately done, as based on the nature of the Performance Task and specifically, the areas that were assessed, both standards are deemed to be satisfactory scores," said Reid.

The minister also noted that the objectives from the National Standards Curriculum that were used to develop the Performance Task represented approximately five per cent of the areas applicable to each subject.

He further stated that the Performance Task will only sample a small percentage of curriculum objectives.

"The Performance Task by itself will not determine how much of the curriculum a student has achieved, thus the need for the various components of the Primary Exit Profile Curriculum Based and Performance Task," noted the Reid.

NO NEED TO BE ALARMED

According to him, the mock performance test was pitched at a high level of the Depth of Knowledge scale - levels three and four - which represents strategic and extended thinking.

"This was done deliberately to ascertain how the students would respond and attempt the items, primarily for internal and baseline establishing purposes," Reid noted.

"Based on the purpose of the mock exam, there was no need to be alarmed, as the data provided was very specific and the tangible information is being used to support those schools that were deemed to need support."

The mock exam was done based on one component of PEP (Performance Task), which accounts for only 20 per cent of the overall assessment. The Ability Test and the Curriculum-Based Test will account for the remaining 30 and 50 per cent, respectively.

"Therefore, it is unreasonable, premature and a knee-jerk reaction to view the June 2018 mock Performance Task exam as an indication of what will happen when the actual assessments are done in 2019," Reid said.

2019 students to sit all aspects of PEP

In the meantime, it was stated that the Performance Task component of PEP has been rescheduled to March 27 and 28, based on a request from the Jamaica Teachers' Association.

The tests will be carried out as follows:

- Ability Test to be done on February 26, 2019

- Performance Task to be done on March 27 and 28, 2019 (instead of December 2018)

- Curriculum-Based Test to be done on April 16 and 17, 2019.

paul.clarke@gleanerjm.com