Adult classes

Courses to be offered to parents to help children struggling with Maths

By Jenique Belgrave

With roughly one-fifth of students scoring less than 30 per cent in Mathematics in the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE), Ministry of Education officials are designing a course for parents to assist their children with the subject.

This disclosure came on Tuesday even as results from this year’s test, referred to as the Common Entrance or 11-plus exam, showed a significant increase in the number of students with a perfect Maths score – 35 compared to just two last year.

“We have engaged Erdiston Teachers’ Training College with regard to hosting workshops for parents in Mathematics and the teaching of English,” Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw disclosed at a press conference to announce the BSSEE results.

Senior Education Officer (Examinations) Glyne Price revealed that around 700 of the 3 170 sitters scored less than 30 per cent in the Mathematics test. Around 400 had a similar score in English.

Price admitted that the failure rate was not an anomaly, noting that the ministry was actively working to address the situation.

“Over the years, the number of students that continue to score below 30 per cent has always been an area of concern for us. Therefore, the curriculum officer in Mathematics over the years has been conducting a series of workshops for teachers in the teaching of Mathematics…especially primary school teachers, to see if we can address the shortfall in terms of some of the delivery of instruction,” he said.

Archer-Bradshaw insisted that it was necessary to address these issues holistically, as she urged parents to be more involved in their children’s learning and progress by attending Parent-Teacher Association meetings and having discussions with the principal and teachers to identify any deficits so they can work along with a child.

“Nothing is wrong with a parent learning along with a child either. We have to attack these problems from various angles. In the meantime, we’re going to develop a programme for parents at Erdiston Teachers’ Training College to help them in terms of teaching the new Maths and some aspects of English as well,” she added.

Addressing the press conference, Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training Kay McConney disclosed that 15 boys and 20 girls received a perfect score in the Mathematics exam.

“This was a vast improvement over only two students in 2022 and a slight decline from 37 in 2021. The national mean score for Mathematics is 59.2. This represents a marginal increase from 57.5 in 2022 and a small increase over 55.6 in 2021. This all represents a continued increase in both male and female performances in Mathematics over the last three years. This is certainly encouraging,” she said.

As for the English exam, McConney said Nadya Bernard of St Gabriel’s Primary was the only student to score 100, compared to last year when three students achieved that perfect mark.

“The overall national mean in English for 2023 is 69.5 as compared to 69.7 in 2022 and 66.3 in 2021. The statistics indicate that there was no significant difference in the performance of students in English between 2022 and 2023,” she said.

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb