Basil Jarrett | The rankings are ready

SOCIAL MEDIA is a lot like Brooklax. It has its uses, but that doesn’t mean you have to enjoy it. It’s also been described as the place where lies come to life and the truth goes to die. But a few months ago, social media demonstrated that it’s also a place where stories, true or false, can be resurrected, resurfaced and given a second life. Take that explosive trending topic from last April about our high-school rankings from 2014 which suddenly re-emerged, seemingly out of nowhere. Some clever individual had re-sent the 2014 information without noting that these results were not current day, causing a hailstorm of chatter among Jamaicans.

The event prompted academic rankings entity Educate Jamaica to issue a statement distancing itself from the re-publication purporting to be the latest high-school academic rankings. But according to Ainsworth Darby, CEO of Educate Jamaica, the resurfacing of the 2014 rankings and the public hoopla that followed, show that there is still a very large appetite among Jamaicans to see how our high schools are performing. Darby also notes that the sudden virality of the posts and the speed with which persons shared the misinformation is indicative, too, that there is an anxious wait to see the 2023 rankings which his team has been working on for several months now.

THE RANKINGS – POST-COVID

This validation prompted the entity to fast-track its work on this year’s rankings, which I’m told is now ready for prime time and due to come out next week.

Although the rankings have been suspended for the past four years, a lot has happened since, namely, that little thing called the COVID pandemic which decimated education across the globe. As we continue to recover from COVID, it is important to know not only how COVID affected our children’s education, but also, how well we are bouncing back in its aftermath. It is also important to know which of our schools are getting it right, which ones are struggling, and what are the contributing factors in both cases.

The rankings are an opportunity to have an open, honest and transparent discussion about the state of education in Jamaica, in order to help us identify those schools which are struggling and to suggest possible interventions that will help to improve their performance. The most recent set of rankings published last year by the Ministry of Education’s Patterson Report was a seminal piece of work that is now being used by the Government to guide education transformation.

After all, you can’t provide a solution to a problem if you don’t know what the problem is, or where they lie in the first place. These 2023 rankings, which are to be released next week, are a very important barometer of where we are and where we need to be, post-COVID, and may suggest ways to help get us there.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

But aside from the strategic value of the rankings in assisting us to devise useful interventions, there are a number of other equally compelling reasons why rankings make sense. Jamaicans are fiercely competitive. Ranking our high schools based on academic performance provides a transparent means of holding institutions accountable for their educational outcomes, while encouraging schools to prioritise academic excellence and improve their teaching methods, curriculum, and resources. Transparency fosters healthy competition that motivates schools to strive for better results and, ultimately, benefits students and the education system as a whole. To not have a ranking system in place would be akin to watching a sport where no one is keeping score. Not much fun, is it?

The rankings also serve as a quality assurance mechanism, allowing stakeholders to identify areas of strength and weakness within educational institutions. It enables policymakers, educators, and administrators to assess the effectiveness of teaching strategies, identify patterns of success, and develop targeted interventions to improve underperforming schools. Through analysis and understanding of the ranking data, schools can identify areas for improvement, implement evidence-based practices, and enhance overall educational standards.

MOTIVATING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

The rankings also provide students and educators with tangible benchmarks and goals to strive for academically. They create a healthy competitive spirit among students, motivating them to work harder, set higher academic standards, and to achieve their full potential. Students in high-ranking schools may feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, while those in lower-ranking schools can use the rankings as a catalyst for personal growth and to advocate for improvements within their institutions. Rankings can inspire students to aim for academic excellence and unlock their academic potential.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT

I believe, too, that the rankings can play a crucial role in empowering parents to make informed decisions about their child’s education. By understanding a school’s academic performance relative to others, parents can actively engage with schools, hold them accountable, and offer ways to contribute to their child’s educational journey. Parents are partners in their children’s education and should advocate for improvement, engage with teachers, and foster a strong school-home connection, which is vital for student success and overall educational development.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Next week’s rankings can also act as a catalyst for continuous improvement within educational institutions. By benchmarking those schools at the top and measuring and evaluating their academic performance, educators can identify areas of strength and weakness and work towards enhancing teaching and learning outcomes within their own schools. Continuous improvement efforts driven by rankings can lead to the overall enhancement of the educational landscape, benefiting students and the education system at large.

COMING NEXT WEEK

The release of the rankings next week, when approached with an open mind, serves a greater purpose far beyond mere competition. When utilised responsibly and coupled with a holistic approach to education, they can be an important catalyst for positive change that drives the academic growth of all students. It will celebrate achievement, drive improvement, enhance accountability, enable informed decision-making, and promote continuous growth. By acknowledging and building upon the successes of high-performing schools, we can create an educational environment that fosters excellence, ignites ambition, and paves the way for a brighter future.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com