Institution's performance more than exam passes

Michael-Anthony Dobson-Lewis, Guest Columnist

FOLLOWING THE publication of the statistics produced by think tank Educatejamaica.org, based on the 2013 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), many are calling for a revamp of all aspects of our education system. There is no need for such a call.

A thorough investigation of our education system reveals that we have many pockets of excellence at all levels, and so I am calling for transformation, reformation and rationalisation of some aspects of the education system.

A school's performance should never be judged on the number of CSEC subjects students pass, but should be assessed on a holistic manner, as there are many other indicators. Schools' performance ought to be assessed by the indicators that reflect what effective schools are, and these indicators are used by the National Education Inspectorate (NEI).

There are eight questions that should be answered about school performance:

1. How effectively is the school led and managed?

2. How effectively does the teaching support the students' learning?

3. How well do the students perform in national and/or regional tests, against the target set for the sector?

4. How much progress do the students make in relation to their starting points?

5. How good is the students' personal and social development?

6. How effectively does the school use the human and material resources at its disposal to help the students achieve as well as they are able?

7. How well do the curriculum and any enhancement programmes meet the needs of the students?

8. How well does the school ensure everyone's safety, security, health, and well-being?

According the NEI, these eight questions/indicators allow stakeholders to judge the quality of the school's strategic and operational management of its human, knowledge and material resources to create a stimulating, safe and secure environment in which our children are able to achieve growth and development that is appropriately aligned to national and regional benchmarks, and which is in keeping with the norms of responsible interpersonal, civic, and environmental conduct.

No reports of progress

As important as the percentage of students attaining various numbers of subjects is, what is missing is the progress made by the students. Progress is never reported in the statistics, except for those given by the NEI.

Progress must be seen as output, just as how we see the attainment of the number of CSEC subjects. There are many students who have made great progress from their starting points, even though they haven't attained the number of CSEC subjects. Shouldn't this progress be reported when talking about the performance of a school? Absolutely!

What is the purpose of schooling? Schools exist to unearth the various talents in students. There are many factors and variables that should be considered which could impact on students' growth and development such as nutrition, attendance, class size, socio-economic status, availability of resources, teacher expectations of students, school climate, attitudes of students, teachers and parents, and teacher and teaching quality.

All these factors must be taken into account when reporting of schools' performance.

A school is a complex and dynamic environment, and so when conducting any assessment of schools' performance, one should seek to find answers to the eight questions/indicators mentioned above.

I strongly believe that as a nation we are doing some good things in education at all levels of the system. Nationally and regionally, we aren't doing as well. However, there are many schools that are doing exceptionally well. Why is this so? Look at these schools, and you will see that they have positive responses to all eight questions/indicators.

There is much more to be done, but there is no need to revamp all aspects of our education system, but instead to transform, reform and rationalise some aspects for greater efficiency, effectiveness, growth, and development of our students so that Jamaica and the world will benefit greatly.

Michael-Anthony Dobson-Lewis is a senior lecturer of UTech's Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mdobson-lewis@utech.edu.jm.