“EXAM: DROP IN STUDENTS RECEIVING A TO C GRADES – Minister say BGCSE results show ‘much work to do at all levels of the system” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; THE number of students who achieved A, B and C grades in BGCSE exams this year dropped compared to 2022, with more students receiving D, E, F and G grades.

Although significantly more students sat the exam as the country moves further from the pandemic, the percentage of grades awarded C or higher this year was lower than in the previous two years, according to statistics the Ministry of Education released yesterday at a press conference.

Overall, 16,326 students took national exams this year.

Five thousand three hundred ninety-three candidates took the BGCSE exams this year, representing 100 government, private and independent centers – an increase of 9.93 per cent compared to last year.

Five hundred forty-four candidates received a grade of C or higher in five or more subjects — 10.09 per cent of all who sat the exam. This represents a 14.06 per cent decrease compared to last year when 633 candidates achieved that goal. Five hundred and fifty candidates did so in 2021.

The number of students who received a minimum grade of D in at least five subjects declined by 5.36 per cent.

The number of students who received at least a C or better in mathematics, language arts and science fell by 2.37 per cent.

Three hundred and three students received at least a C in mathematics, 5.62 per cent of all candidates. In 2022, 392 candidates received the same, 7.99 per cent of all candidates.

The drop in A to C grades and increase in D to G grades is concerning and calls for improvements at all levels of the education system, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said.

 “The examination results show, as they have revealed in successive years, that we still have much work to do at all levels of the system,” she said.

 “The concerns demonstrated in these results are the product of the results over the years and are the result of long-standing deficiencies in our educational system, which are now compounded by the impact of learning loss on students in The Bahamas and all over the world as a result of the prolonged shutdowns in the height of COVID 19 pandemic.

 “We have therefore determined that the foundational work is a priority throughout the educational system and must be reinforced at every level of the school experience. We do not wish to be caught in the trap of social promotion. To advance this agenda, it is necessary that all hands are on deck as we move forward in this school year.”

Now it would be very easy to turn this onto a political war/row; especially given the bravado with which Minister Hanna-Martin took the post of Minister of Education and casted nothing but “doom and gloom” on what she met in place but this situation is far too important to begin a senseless political war/row – this is really about the future of The Bahamas and it is my most fervent belief that parents needs to be far more involved with the education of their children than they are at this point but even with that very simple suggestion there are at least two major problems; these problem being that most parents do not understand the work themselves  and then there are those that believe that this is the schools responsibility.

A major paradigm shift is necessary to bring us back in line to where we would see that the education of our children extends beyond the classroom and into the home.

I would like to make the following wild intimation, to have parents look at homework in a different manner.  Homework is more than a tool to reinforce the lessons taught earlier that day to make sure that the student grasps the concept, but also is a time for time for parents and children to bond and for a time for the parent to help build their child’s confidence in the subject and in general; giving them the confidence and knowledge that they can do things on their own and establishing the methodology on how to go about achieving this.

I recall when my son was in early primary, he would get very frustrated when he was unable to apply the principles from the school lesson earlier that day and or simply could not resolve a problem given to him for home work.  It took a lot of breaks and coming back and explanation until by the time he left primary school when could not figure something out he was like, “wait! Don’t tell me”, as he figured it out, as he had built the confidence though the support of his parents.  This underscores the value of the parents in the child’s education.

As for the parents that cannot understand the work themselves, there must be programs for those willing to do and want better to be able to sit with educators to be able to grasp the concept of the work to be done so that they themselves can explain it to their children.  This takes time, dedication and money to the system because educators must be compensated for these extra hours spent, as they put in the time to raise the nation.

As I have mentioned above it will take a major shift paradigm shift in our way of thinking to achieve an upward trend in our education results; especially if we were to keep leaving all of the work up to our educators and taking little to no responsibility onto our very own backs – and we must remember they are our children.

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