SIXTY-TWO per cent of grade four students in public primary schools islandwide performed at the mastery level in a literacy examination in 2005, according to results recently published by the National Council on Education (NCE).

According to the publication, “the test is designed to assess pupils’ ability to recognise words, read and understand simple stories, factual texts, directions, lists and tables”. The test, developed by the Ministry of Education and Youth, also evaluates students’ ability to write simple stories, reports and letters.

It is comprised of three components – word recognition, reading comprehension and a writing task. Students who pass all three components are considered to have achieved mastery. Those who pass one or two of the three components are considered to have achieved near mastery.

The test is administered, scored and reported on by the individual schools.

The National Average Score (NAS) of 62 per cent, meanwhile, represented a four-percentage point increase over the figure for 2004 and 2003, the publication revealed. At the same time, approximately 91 per cent or 47,739 of the 52,563 students enrolled in grade 4 during the academic year 2004/2005 sa the test.

“According to the performance scores, only 62 per cent attained mastery or possessed the requisite age-appropriate and developmental literacy skills,” the report said.

The report – which for the first time details the scores of students in each public primary, primary and junior high, and all-age school in Jamaica – also shows mixed results and many surprises. Students of some schools did brilliantly on the test with 100 per cent achieving mastery, while at others, none achieved mastery.

Some schools, which are highly acclaimed based on their high number of scholarship winnings in the critical Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in recent years, do not appear among those with the highest percentage of students achieving mastery.

They include the St Richard’s Primary School in St Andrew, which has only 68 per cent of its candidates achieving mastery in the exam. St Richards was outperformed by an institution less acclaimed – the Naggo Head Primary School in St Catherine – which had 77 per cent of its students achieving mastery.

But smaller and little-known institutions such as Nightingale Grove All-Age in St Elizabeth are performing well. Of the 19 students who sat the test out of the cohort of 23, all achieved mastery. Other schools at which 100 per cent of students sitting achieved mastery were Auchtembeddie All-Age in Manchester, Mount Hannah All-Age in Hanover, Content All-Age in Westmoreland and Cascade Primary and Junior High in Portland.

Drastic improvements are needed at some schools, such as Jubilee Town All-Age in St Catherine where 16 students out of an eligible cohort of 19 sat the exam, with none achieving mastery. At Anderson Town Primary in Clarendon, only one child out of 20 achieved mastery.

The report gives star ratings to the schools, with five stars for schools where 85 per cent of children achieve mastery down to one star for schools where 25 to 39 per cent of the children achieved mastery.

NCE Executive Director Ruth Morris confirmed yesterday that it was the first time the results of the Grade 4 exam were compiled by the NCE for publication.

The report does not include the performance of the island’s preparatory schools (independent primary-level schools).