By Petrina Francis, Education ReporterSCHOOLS IN the 'lowest 10' category of Dr. Ralph Thompson's 2004 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) mathematics and English rankings have cited a lack of parental involvement in addition to the calibre of students they receive as reasons for their poor performance.
"We get the bottom of the GSAT students. That is where we start, from students who can't read. They are dumped on us (and) we haven't got a choice but to take them," said Dennis Kelly, principal of the Kingston-based Charlie Smith High School.
"To be honest, we have been given a raw deal in most areas," he said.
Using the CXC results in 2004, Dr. Thompson, a member of the National Council on Education, ranked schools according to their performance in the mathematics and English examinations.
PLAGUED BY VIOLENCE
The principal also noted that south St. Andrew, where the school is located, has been plagued by violence and is not conducive to learning.
Added to that is the matter of parental support. Mr. Kelly said that this has got worse over the years.
He explained that when it was revealed that the grade 10 students were performing poorly, some interventions were implemented and parents were called in. However, he said that only a handful of parents turned up despite the adequate notice that was given.
"We regret that the picture is looking as it is, but it is way beyond our powers," he said.
A meeting was held Monday with students of grades 10 and 11 and their parents will be called in on Thursday "to avert any repeat of this".
Meanwhile, Lauriston Lindsay, principal of Happy Grove High School, told The Gleaner that he was not surprised that his students performed poorly in the core subjects.
"To be honest, I was not surprised at the results. I know that this is what we are going to continue to get if we don't have the right intervention and a solid reading programme that all students are buying into," he said.
The principal added that there are students coming into the school who are not reading at the grade 7 level. In fact, he said, in September they tested the incoming students and only 10 of them were reading at the required level.
SCHOOLS HAVE FAILED
"Schools have failed. How can you have only five schools in Jamaica getting over 50 per cent in mathematics? What is that saying? It is a wake-up call. We need to wake up and stop talking about this thing every year and nothing is being done," he said passionately.
Senator Noel Monteith, state minister in the Education Ministry, admits that there was room for improvement but he is rejecting Dr. Thompson's study because it does not take the holistic development of the students into consideration.
