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UPDATED: PEP results to be released by next week Friday

Published:Tuesday | June 11, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Students of Windward Road Primary School sitting the Primary Exit Profile performance task national mock exam in June 2018 - File photo

The results of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) are expected to be released by the end of next week.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Education, Karl Samuda, said the ministry is currently in the final stages of preparing the reports for release to schools.

Samuda noted that students will be provided with a detailed report on their performance in the placement exam, shifting from how performance of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) was reported.

“Similar to CSEC and CAPE, you will not see the percentages. Instead, parents will receive a detailed four page report which clearly outlines your student’s performance,” Samuda said.

He stated that parents will receive the first two pages of the report when the results are released next week.

That information, he explained, will outline the student’s scaled scores, an interpretation of the scores and school placement.

In the following weeks, parents will receive additional information in the form of a detailed subject report which will break down the areas tested in each subject and details of the student’s performance.

Students sat an Ability Test, a Performance Task test and a Curriculum-based Test.

PEP is the series of tests that have replaced the Grade Six Achievement Test as the national secondary school entrance examination.

It is intended to provide a better and more complete profile of students’ academic and critical-thinking capabilities at the end of primary-level education.

In the meantime, Grace McLean, permanent secretary in the Ministry, informed that the data captured and scoring of all responses are done by computers.

She added that the Performance Task component of the exam was marked by specially selected and trained teachers.

“As a safeguard, the marking process is anonymous. Teachers selected to mark the Performance Tasks are required to sign a contract to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. Marking is done in a sterile environment at a central location,” McLean said.

Additionally, she said there will be no change to the approach to be used for the placement of students who sat PEP as against GSAT.

Although not going into details, McLean disclosed that the ministry encountered logistical challenges in the printing of the exam papers, however, she said they were rectified. 

*NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Education Ministry had encountered logistical challenges in the marking of the exam papers.

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