Cassava River Primary shows improvement in GSAT

With the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) expected to be phased out next year, the Cassava River Primary and Infant School in rural St Catherine has shown tremendous improvement this year, according to Principal Rogae Kirlew.

Although not on the scale of the traditional primary and preparatory schools in the parish, Kirlew said the school's performance is worthy of note, especially against the background of the stigma of low performance usually associated with deep rural schools.

According to him, 30 students sat the examination, recording an overall average of 60 per cent success rate for the school.

"We did very well when you consider that we inherited a slow stream of grade six students, who no one expected would have shown the level of improvement in the tests," Kirlew stated.

"Some of our students were placed in schools such as Westwood, Queens, Oberlin, Merle Grove, St Mary's College and Glengoffe High."

Kirlew pointed out that 60 per cent of the students scored 70 and up in mathematics, and language arts, while 90 per cent scored 85 and up in communication task.

He singled out for what he described as their exceptional performances, Dhanieka Williams, with an overall average of 91.6 per cent, Shalini Sepaul 84.3 per cent and Domain Tyrell 82.2 per cent. Williams will be going to Westwood come September; Sepaul, Queens and Tyrell, St Mary's High.