Petersfield High principal blasts rating system ... Says it's based on a flawed assessment

Karrie Williams, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Principal of Petersfield High School in Westmoreland, Clyde Evans, has criticised the system of rating high schools, which, he says, is based on flawed assessments carried out by some researchers.

The system, he says, has put Petersfield High School, among others, as 'underperforming'.

Evans made the comment during the valedictory service for fifth-form students at the school at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall in Savanna-la-Mar on Tuesday.

"Certain documents have been published recently that somehow seem to have the endorsement of the Ministry of Education ... (but) no one from the Ministry of Education stands up and says, 'We do not support you ranking schools'. No one says, 'We do not support the idea of giving schools a number as this number labels the school and makes one seem better than the other'," Evans said.

"I am not hearing anyone coming to the defence of schools and saying that the students never got to CXC stage (as) when you look at the quality of students they got from Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) to have them be able to read fluently is great value-added indeed," the principal said.

Evans lashed out at the researchers involved in ranking schools, saying they have failed to incorporate vital statistics in their reports, which can only be acquired by visiting the schools.

"We have students who, when they come to us, are in a bad way academically, but by the time they graduate, their numeracy and literacy skills have increased. Who measures that value-added?" he asked.

"The researchers take the GSAT results and look at the scores of the students placed at a school, and in the case of Petersfield High School, sure, we have students with 70 per cent averages placed there, but by September, where are these students? Many of them never even came by to collect their school package and so should never have been counted in the assessment of any school's performance," he argued.

Evans said despite this setback, Petersfield High School has done well to transform the students from low achievers into high achievers. Of significance are last year's achievements in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams.

100 per cent passes in all practical subjects

He said of the 25 subject areas that were entered in the examinations, 17 subjects achieved success rates of over 50 per cent. He said the school scored a 100 per cent pass rate in all practical subjects and also did the same for five additional subject areas. There were also several students gaining passes in seven subjects or more.

Evans also encouraged students to stop being place holders and take some responsibility for their own learning.

"In our internal examinations, we continue to have students who excel, but at the other end of the spectrum, we have students who continue to be place holders in the school. We provide the opportunity for the students, however, it is their responsibility to grasp this opportunity and embrace it with open arms," he said.

The CSEC achievements also coincided with another major milestone for Petersfield. At the beginning of the current academic year, the school launched a sixth-form programme with a focus on the arts and business subjects, with 24 students enrolled.

Petersfield has also excelled in sports this year, with a record-breaking medal haul at the 2014 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championship. At the recent National Junior Athletics Championships, three national junior champions emerged from the school.

Speaking against the background of these and other accomplishments, Evans promised a bright future for Petersfield High, adding that the school was on a mission to become an institution of choice in Jamaica.

"We are now clearly on the map as a school to be reckoned with. We are becoming a powerful force among high schools in Westmoreland, and it is for this reason we intend to capitalise on our good fortunes in sports and take the academics there, too. We intend to become a school of choice within the next five years as we publicise our good fortunes both in sports and academics," he said.

But Evans conceded that the school was still battling disciplinary problems and pleaded with parents to help in ridding the institution of the problem.

"The year we have had was not without disciplinary challenges, many of which could have been avoided if parents were more involved. Parents, students, we will not relent, and the clamping down only gets stronger in the new school year. We are working towards 100 per cent conformity among the students," he said.