Garcia: Boy tops SEA, but I don’t know who he is

A boy has topped this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination. Education Minister Anthony Garcia made the announcement at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s. SEA results will be released on Wednesday. Principals are to collect the results from 8 am.

This year, 19,139 students sat the exam. There were 9,694 male and 9,445 female students.

Garcia said it was important to note, “The student who placed first in this exam, in other words the student who scored the highest, was a male student.”

The second- and third-placed children, he said, were girls.

“For some time we have been noticing that our girls have been outperforming the boys where first place is concerned.”

The last time a boy topped the SEA exam was in 2010. In 2016, Shae Roman of the Scarborough Methodist Primary School topped the SEA in Tobago.

Asked to identify this year’s top student or his school, Garcia replied, “No, I am not in a position to do that.

“In fact, truth be told, I myself do not know the name of the student or the name of the school.”

Garcia said he would receive the official results on Tuesday at approximately 5 pm and would have to sign off on them.

On whether boys did better than girls this year, Garcia said, “I don’t have that comparison.”

“From discussions, and from the fact that a boy was able to top the exam, it seems as though our male students have improved.”

In terms of subjects, Garcia said 58.8 per cent of students scored above 50 per cent in mathematics this year, compared to 58 per cent last year. In creative writing, 55.5 per cent of students scored over 50 per cent. That figure was 54.4 per cent in 2017.

However, overall there was a decrease in students scoring over 50 per cent in English Language, from 63.8 per cent in 2017 to 57.9 per cent this year.

Garcia also said the ministry is concerned about students scoring under 30 per cent, saying that amounted to 11.9 per cent or 2,595 students. He explained that children who scored below 30 per cent, depending on their age and whether they had sat the exam before, will be asked to repeat the exam in their respective schools.

Students who are 13 years and older who scored under 30 per cent “will be allowed to move on to secondary schools,” he said. These children are provided with a special curriculum and increased supervision.

Garcia said these measures “are bearing fruit.” He reiterated that places will be found for all of this year’s SEA students.

Also, Garcia said there is no impasse between the ministry and the TT Association of Private Secondary Schools, and a committee is meeting with the association about its request to increase the stipend paid to them from $1,200 to $5,700 per term per student. After those discussions are completed, Garcia said a recommendation will be taken to Cabinet for consideration.