New GSAT literacy tests for Jamaica
Published:Thursday | March 12, 2009 | 1:24 PM
The Education Ministry is seeking to assure parents that this year’s sitting of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) will not be affected by its new literacy test policy.
The Ministry is expected to implement the new policy staring June which will see students in Grade Four having to sit a revised literacy test.
As of 2011, students preparing for the GSAT will not be able to sit the exam unless they have attained a mastery level in the literacy test at the grade four level.
The students will be given at least three chances to resit the literacy test ahead of the GSAT.
An official at the Ministry told the Gleaner Power 106 News that new literacy examination policy is aimed at regulating the movement of students from the primary level to the secondary level based on literacy levels rather than placement.
Meanwhile the Ministry says it wants to increase the number of literacy specialists currently working at the primary level in order to further enhance the performance of students.
Currently there are 50 such specialists in schools across the island.
Approximately 50,000 students are expected to sit the GSAT this year on March 26 and 27.