I HAVE to agree with your opinion in the editorial of Monday, August 24, that the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results do represent, perhaps, the most meaningful yardstick available to measure achievement in education. You quite rightly condemn the practice of screening students when you observe that "As Ms Cooke reminded, approximately 51 per cent of the grade 11 age cohort is either screened by their teachers out of the CSEC exams or are not in school at all."

However, you seem very reluctant to question the validity of policies that allow schools to screen students who get below 90/80/70 per cent, etc., in the GSAT. You are quite willing to allow some schools to continue to hide behind bright students. Screening is counterproductive whether it is done at grade seven or grade eleven, and it doesn't really matter who is responsible for doing it.

Underperformance

In my letters to your newspaper, I have been trying to get across the point that the main reason for underperformance in students is a lack of supervision after school hours. In the absence of a school bus system, when children are sent long distances to school it is almost impossible for their parents to control what they do with their time. The exceptional ones who are motivated, and those who can afford chartered transportation, might not be affected significantly. But the majority are left to be socialised into an unorganised or even a disorganised lifestyle and grow up without focus or purpose.

Placing children in schools near to their homes will allow us to keep them in school for longer hours with organised study sessions, which can be supervised by teachers with the help of older children. Teachers could get to know the parents more easily, which is perhaps the most effective means of discipline.

The top 20 per cent who pass five or more subjects very likely represent the students who became literate very early, had parental support and supervision throughout their school career and entered high school with 80s and 90s at the GSAT. These are the students whose parents turn out to school on parents' days. They would have performed up to par at any school. The system works quite well for them.

Failing system

However, the system is failing the much larger number of not so bright, average, not so weak as well as the weak students. Children who get over 50 per cent in GSAT are not dunces by any standard. I believe that with consistent monitoring and supervision they can end up with five or more subjects too. I have known it to happen in quite a few cases among students whom I and others have given extra lessons.

I am, etc.,

R. Howard Thompson

roi_anne@hotmail.com

Mandeville PO