The grade six national assessment has been carded for June 23 and 24 and the education ministry says all preparations are being made to ensure that everything is ready for the two days of assessment.
A total of eight hundred and fifty-four students will take the exam in 70 centers around the island; That is, four hundred and seventeen girls and four hundred and thirty-seven boys, with the largest number of students being in the Rosso catchment area.
Ms. Candia Robinson, measurement officer in the course unit, says the exam was postponed due to a lack of face-to-face learning due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in Dominica.
“One of the things we did was that we postponed the exams. So it’s 26. should have beenth and 27th With May and Covid-19 and students going online, some parents were worried that there was some loss on the students’ acquisition of concepts and so on. So one thing that we try to do is to accommodate the schools and the parents and the students. So we put it back 23. pushed onthird and 24th, By now we are almost ready, we are almost there. One of the things we do is that we have workshops with school supervisors, print exams, and one of the new things we’re doing is we have at least one component. are going to be online together, because they have been online for a while, so hopefully this helps us figure out what we need to do and what not to do next year,” Ms Robinson said.
He further told that this year social science will be taught online.
“The subject we are working on online is social science. We had a choice between science and social science mainly because there are a lot of pictures, and one problem is that our printer prints only in black and white and sometimes students can’t see it very clearly Huh. So we figured it’s a short test, it’s fifty questions as opposed to maths and language arts which are sixty questions. So we thought if we were going to do something online and do something that has a lot of diagrams and pictures that would make it very clear for the students,” she explained.
In 2020, the Grade Six National Assessment was done in a day. This year, the exam has been shifted back to two days which will enable the students to manage the exam better. She says that measures are being taken to ensure social distancing among the students.
“I remember initially when Covid came, we did it for a day because we didn’t want them to move up and down in buses etc. But it was a lot for the students and we had to cut down on the number of items so that they could do it one day. Last year we had decided that this is too much so we are going back in two days, but what we did was in terms of social distancing, so we have increased the number of centres. I think earlier, we had hundred and we broke it down to 70 but before covid we had around 50 centres. So for example a school may have ten centers where in one center we may have a maximum of fifteen to sixteen students. There is a school with about forty students, but it is in a hall, so it is so big that they are at least three feet apart, which is what we say is the new minimum for distance,” said the measurement officer.
The ministry is also making provisions for students who may be infected with the COVID-19 virus. Students will be allowed to take the exam from home.
“If a child is infected with Covid and we are aware of the situation, then obviously if it is a day before then we cannot do anything about it. But we’re going to work with the local registrar for CXC, who’s going to use some of his supervisors because they have some experience in this, and they’ll go to the student’s house with all the necessary precautions, and the evaluation will happen at the child’s home. can be administered,” Ms Robinson explained.
Ms. Robinson had these words of advice for parents of students taking the Class VI National Assessment Test this week:
“One of the things that happens especially with the Grade Six National Assessment is the excitement and it has added to the tension. So we try to tell the parents, please try not to stress the students, because by doing this you are going to disturb them during the day. So be there for them, praise them, give them the support they need; You leave them on the day of the exam, you give them a little kiss on the cheek, wish them well, you leave and then come back at the end of the day. On the first day it almost ends as there are two components in the language paper but the second day ends at around 12 o’clock so that they can come around that time. But we really don’t want them on the school premises. Again, even though we still have to keep the covid-protocol in mind and we don’t want overcrowding etc. So drop them, and pick them up. Give them their breakfast, make sure they have everything because we don’t want them to share writing material etc,” Robinson said.
