No analysis yet on Tobago students' SEA performance

Tobago educators are yet to compile an analysis of the Tobago students' performance at the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA). This from TT Unified Teacher’s Association (TTUTA) Tobago officer Bradon Roberts.

A total of 1048 students, 513 boys and 535 girls, wrote the examination in Tobago.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday, one day after the release of the results, Roberts said the THA Division of Education, Research and Technology is yet to provide an analysis.

“Unfortunately, the information is still difficult to combine.”

He said he spoke to a couple of teachers who indicated that they are trying to do the calculations for themselves to get the average for their schools.

“What I am getting generally is that in the math and the language arts, there were improvements in terms of scores for the individual students but the creative writing which has historically been a challenge for us in Tobago – the creative writing scores were a lot lower than they were getting in the practice tests.

"So it’s either the application of the rubric or the rubric that they’re practising with, it’s not the ideal one but there needs to be some development in the creative writing and how we tackle the creative writing because that carries a heavy score for the SEA.”

He said that he is yet to ascertain how many of the students on the island scored below 50 per cent, which is one of the things that should be given some attention.

“Sometimes, we focus on those who came first in test but what about those who, even though they did not come last, did not reach a satisfactory grade.

"So those numbers are still out – even the schools only have their schools and some of the teachers don’t have access to all the information, so information is really hard to combine.”

The official results of the examination were released, and parents and guardians were able to access the placements of their children via the Ministry of Education's online portal.

There were reports of increased traffic to the portal as anxious parents logged in to obtain results but eventually, all parents were able to access their children's SEA results.

Meantime, the THA Division of Education, Research and Technology in a press release has extended congratulations to all Tobago's students.

“The Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Administrator in the Division of Education, Research and Technology extend heartfelt congratulations to all SEA students. These students were required to adjust to online learning during the formative years of their primary education. In the midst of this challenge, they have defied the odds and successfully achieved this milestone. We wish our students all the best as they transition to secondary level.”

The Division said it has received the relevant data on students' performance and the Research Unit is reviewing this information.

The release said over the next week, meetings will be held with the Division's technical officers and stakeholders to discuss the results to guide policy and decision-making.