Of course, when the man at the helm of the nation's education hierarchy says that the system which creams off the top percentage of its pre-pubescent academic achievers and basically puts them together in similarly high-performing schools, it does have some impact.
So, while we are not reacting with the hyperbolic enthusiasm which greets a truly groundbreaking discovery, we are applauding this declaration of an obvious flaw from someone who is in the position to do something about it.
And even though the Independent Committee for GSAT Reform which Taina Williams heads is not in a decision-making position and her observation on the harshness that is the GSAT is similarly unoriginal, we acknowledge that it comes from a group that is actively pursuing the system's reform.
We would suggest, however, that even if we somehow got all our students literate and numerate, a utopia to which Mr Holness seems intent on leading the nation, in making the GSAT's ranking system truly redundant, the drive for a separation based on social class would still remain.
Geographical locale
For the perception of 'good quality' work being done in different places is based as much on 'brand-name tradition' as it is on real results at the end of five- or seven-year periods. Added to that is the very geographical locale of some schools which will determine from among which segment of the population they will draw the bulk of their population.
Among the other challenges to be addressed is placing more schools on an equal footing in terms of human and material resources so that the common curriculum being offered is of real value - namely that schools tagged 'upgraded' should have the facilities and staff to function properly as such.
Of course, some of these schools have made and are already making great strides in improving the quality of pedagogy and their administration, but not enough to make a difference in the minds of how the wider public sees them.
The other challenge that must be addressed is the quality of monitoring and teaching that takes place at the primary level so that there is not this great uneveness in performance in exams at the grade-six level when students are required to move up to the secondary level. The problem with GSAT is not just that there is an inherent class bias in the placing of students. It is that too many schools are 'the poor cousins' in the overall system and too many of the students are not ready, intellectually, to move on to secondary-level education.
It is ironic that after discarding the Common Entrance Examinations to reduce the annual national trauma that the society seems to have come full circle and is now seeking to 'fix' its replacement - the GSAT. The real problem is the system, not the exam.
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