President of the Bahamas Union of Teachers Belinda Wilson says she is in no way surprised by the results of the 2020 national exams that worsened when compared to 2019.
Why it matters
- Fewer students received A, B, and C grades and more students received D, E, F and G grades, and the results show that the overall number of candidates that sat the exam, were lower when compared to 2019.
The big picture
- BUT President Belinda Wilson and the Ministry have been in a squabble over when students should sit the BJC and BGCE examinations. She lobbied for the national exams to be cancelled, and for the MOE to award students predictive grades. However, MOE insisted that students sit the national exams for 2020 to help with employment and college entrance.
What Belinda Wilson says
Wilson predicts that the 2020/2021 exams will be worst due to the “educational gap” that was widened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the interruptions, challenged virtual platform, the late start for the school year, the incomplete 2021 syllables, and the ministry’s inability to reach the nearly 14,000 students who never attended the virtual learning, will produce worse results in 2021.
She asks, “What changes have been put in place to ensure that the 2020-2021 exams will not be a repeat of 2020? What policies will be adopted based on the data of the exam results? The results show that girls outperformed boys. So what new program will be executed to assist boys? Will the ministry continue with the status quo?”
The good news
- Of the 27 subjects tested, there was improved performance in 15 of them, including auto mechanics, biology, bookkeeping and accounts, chemistry, clothing construction, combined science, commerce, economics, electrical installation, food and nutrition, graphical communication, history, music, office procedures and Spanish.
- Performances in English language and literature remained unchanged, according to the ministry.
- More than 80 percent of the grades awarded continues to range from A-E.
- Performances improved in English language, mathematics, art, craft study, family and consumer science and literature, with the performance in general science remaining the same.