Primary Education
Primary education in Jamaica addresses the basic educational needs of students and prepares them for Secondary Education. It includes children between the ages of 5-11 years. Under the Caribbean Examination Council's Revised Primary Curriculum, student assessment has changed significantly from what was generally an automatic promotion to secondary school through the former Common Entrance Examination at the end of Grade 6. Since 1999, the National Assessment Program (NAP) has been utilizing a variety of teaching strategies to ensure that learning experiences are more broad based and student centered. NAP adopts an integrated approach from grades 1-3 and a discrete subject area for grades 4-6.
- Grade 1: Readness Inventory
- Grade 3: Assessment tests in Math and Language Arts
- Grade 4: Literacy Test
- Grade 6: Achievement Test (GSAT): in Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science and Writing.
The students make a prioritized list of 5 schools they wish to attend, and based on the results from the GSAT, they are placed at a school from their list. Some schools have a higher cut off score, generally schools with a history of high academic performance.
Read more about this topic: Education In Jamaica
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