Garcia: SEA should be challenging

EDUCATION Minister Anthony Garcia has responded to concerns about the mathematics in the recently completed Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination, saying exams are meant to be challenging.

He was responding to a question in the House yesterday from Opposition MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh on the consequences and remedial action to be taken over concerns about the maths component of Thursday's SEA exam.

Garcia said: "I know not of what the Member for Caroni (East) speaks. If the member is referring to comments made by students that certain questions were challenging, that is expected. It happens all the time. Any educator who is worth his salt will know that a well-designed examination must include a wide range of questions, coming from simple questions to the higher-order questions that require interpretation and analysis. And this is exactly what happened."

He added the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has a standard procedure for marking exams, including any issues "that might come up."

Gopeesingh asked whether he would address CXC on the complaints from hundreds of students about irregular issues on the mathematics paper.

Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, however, did not allow the question.

Gopeesingh asked: "Why?"

Annisette-George replied that the question had not arisen out of the response. Gopeesingh continued to protest, but Annisette-George said they could not both stand at the same time.