Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Students in all-age schools across the island had the lowest performance in all subject areas, except communication task, in the 2008 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), according to a ministry paper tabled in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The ministry paper, which was tabled by Education Minister Andrew Holness, stated that the average performance in all subjects was highest in kindergarten/preparatory schools, followed by primary schools with averages in all subjects above or equal to the national averages.

However, the ministry document indicated that all-age schools had the lowest averages, performing below the national averages in all subject areas, except communication task.

Averages

The national average for mathematics was 55 per cent, science - 52 per cent, social studies - 56 per cent, language arts - 53 per cent, and communication task - 57 per cent.

Earlier this month, Jasper Lawrence, chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, said the ministry was dissatisfied with these averages.

The ministry paper said performance in all subject areas, except for communication task, reflected a bimodal distribution, with a fairly large number of students performing above the national average while a majority performed below average.

At the same time, the ministry paper said, the majority of the students performed at or above average in communication task.

Meanwhile, Holness told the House of Representatives on Tuesday that 14,871 students selected 10 schools as their first choice, but those schools only had 2,565 spaces.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com