#BTColumn – Holistic approach to education reform

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By John Goddard

Two government commissions have produced evidence of the damage to children caused by the Common Entrance Examination, the 11+. The National Commission on Law and Order pointed to the public perception of certain schools as “low status and bad”, based on low marks earned in the exam.

The commission further stressed that such public perception persisted whatever success these schools achieved. The inequality became a self-fulfilling prophecy for a very large section of the student population. That commission called for a change in how pupils were allocated to secondary school.

The Commission on Justice Research Planning noted that “misguided teens and convicted criminals came mainly from seven low-status schools”. The commission also reported that many young men left school unable to read and write.

It concluded that the major contributing factor was the allocation of students, scoring less than 30 per cent, to “certain stigmatised low-status schools which served as dumping grounds for the riff-raff of primary schools”. Both commissions noted that negative public perception of schools is internalised by the student population and inflicts irreparable damage to their psyche.

And what about the views of children who attended so-called bad schools? According to the commissions, a number of them said that the negative perception attached to them started in primary school and followed them into secondary school. They were of the opinion that the education system had thrown a large section of them to the wolves.

So, an important part of education reform is to find a new method of transferring pupils to secondary school, especially since all of our secondary schools are staffed with highly qualified teachers. If you doubt me, check the large number of students of the highly regarded schools who flock to St Leonard’s Boys and other newer secondary schools for lessons. It is my belief that once the method of transfer is changed, primary schools can get on with the business of helping all children realise their full potential.

First, we need to understand that only cosmetic reform is possible if the Common Entrance Examination remains the focal point of primary education. It encourages principals and teachers to concentrate their efforts on those “bright” children who will bring glory to the school. For the most part, coaching replaces effective teaching in a mad scramble to ensure that some students pass for the prestigious secondary schools. Not surprisingly, the system produces an increasingly large number of pupils, who at age 11, can barely read, write, add, subtract or multiply. Clearly, something has gone wrong in primary education.

What, then, should be done in place of the 11+? I know this is a question posed by those who want to see the exam retained. It is they who fail to realise that the elite schools are of that calibre because of their student intake. This was clearly demonstrated in the late seventies and early eighties when a dispute between the Ministry of Education and the Headmaster of The Lodge School badly affected the learning environment at that school, and a number of parents opted not to choose the school. Academic performance suffered to the point where a school which once rivalled Harrison College for Barbados Scholarships and Exhibitions was unable to achieve any. Consequently, The Lodge dropped in the pecking order.

The point is that our secondary schools are only as successful as the quality of their intake. If all schools are required to take students with a mix of abilities, the playing field will soon become level. There can be no fair competition if a few schools receive students with marks above 80 while some others are forced to take pupils with scores below 30. Yet, society unfavourably compares the CSEC results of the latter with those of the former, congratulates the schools with the top students for performing well and criticises the poor performance of the others.

My preference is for the government to convert probably three of the present schools which have experience and success in preparing students for ‘A’ level and CAPE to sixth form colleges, specialising in the humanities; science and technology; arts, including visual, dance and theatre; social sciences; home ecology; entrepreneurship; tourism; electrical and mechanical engineering and sports, among others.  All other secondary schools would take students from within their catchment area. In this connection, I support the establishment of two additional secondary schools, but not in St Michael to create more traffic congestion. The rapidly developing parish of St Philip suggests itself as a venue for one of the schools. The main purpose of having the additional schools would be to reduce the number of students in each institution. No school should have more than 800 pupils with class sizes of between 20 and 25.

Since all schools, presently, cater to all age groups, it would take about five years for those earmarked to be sixth-form colleges to phase out first to fifth-form students. Meanwhile, they would stop taking first-formers, and concentrate on admitting CSEC graduates.

After successfully completing CSEC, students desirous of continuing on an academic programme would be admitted to the sixth form colleges or the Barbados Community College (BCC). Those who have the aptitude and prefer to pursue technical/vocational education and training (TVET) would proceed to the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) or the world of work. There may be a need for a second institute of technology in the north of the island to satisfy the needs of those interested in technical and vocational subjects.

To those who argue that the abolition of the 11+ will lead to an increase in private secondary schools, I say that ours is a democracy and people are free to opt for private education. However, once the government can provide places for all children, those parents who choose private schools should not expect subsidised fees.

Whichever method of transfer from primary to secondary school is employed, our system of transport has to be reorganised. I propose a dedicated school bus service to ensure that our students can be taken to and from school on time and safely. At present, the system is chaotic and breeds indiscipline and lawlessness. No matter how much transformation in education we create, it will be seriously compromised if the bus service for students continues to be characterised by rowdyism and vulgarity.

As far as primary education is concerned, with the Common Entrance gone, teachers would be free to help all children master foundational skills. I propose diagnostic testing on entry to primary school and at ages seven and nine, aimed at identifying and remediating deficiencies. A national assessment exam done at age 10 or 11 will determine whether children are ready for transfer to secondary school, not which schools they are to attend.

For our primary schools to meet the needs of all children, there is, in my view, a need for a cadre of highly trained Infants teachers who should be given a special allowance to encourage them to remain in the Infants Department. I am sure I do not have to convince educators about the value of a solid early education.

More attention needs to be paid to students with special needs. First of all, children need to be tested for visual and aural problems as well as other physical challenges and specific learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. Testing should also be done for autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Down’s syndrome. Following diagnoses, the government must allocate adequate teaching and material resources for special needs education. Well-resourced special needs units should be strategically placed at primary schools across the island to be easily accessible to children in need of such education. This would, of course, require an adequate number of highly trained special needs teachers.

It ought to be clear to all of us that too many of our boys are failing in the system. A concerted effort must be made to meet the peculiar needs of boys. Let me pause at this time to congratulate Astra Babb for taking the time to work with boys during the summer vacation. Hers is truly a labour of love.

Time and special skills must be employed to reach boys where they are and to pay attention to their levels of maturation. Primary schools should be reorganised to have classes of boys and girls taught separately. In this way, boys can be given the attention they need.

Perhaps as their contribution to the transformation debate, the teachers’ unions should assemble a team and charge it with the responsibility of examining problems facing boys and devising strategies to help them overcome their challenges. This society cannot afford the waste of human resources that uneducated males represent. I am convinced that we can do something to rescue our boys.

John Goddard is a retired educator who taught at St George Secondary School, Harrison College and Barbados Community College.