SOME 15,000 grade five students, or approximately one-third of that year’s cohort, rewrote the Grade Four Literacy Test (G4LT) last Tuesday, as Government continued to roll out its policy to ensure that only certified literate students enter high school in the future.

These students had sat the test on June 18 this year when they were in grade four, but had failed to achieve mastery in the three subject areas.

Ministry of Education figures show that of 44,208 students registered in grade four, 41,662 sat the test in June with 67 per cent achieving mastery, 23 per cent achieving near mastery and 10 per cent non-mastery.

A senior source at the ministry told Career and Education that the students who re-wrote the exam included 80 students of Pembroke Hall Primary School who wrote the exam in June but whose scripts were not properly identified.

“My understanding is that the exam went off very well without any fanfare,” the ministry source said.

Everton Jones, principal of Denham Town Primary School, said 86 children, or approximately half of his grade five students, rewrote the exam on Wednesday. He said the teachers, as well as the children’s parents, had taken the exam more seriously this time around.

“The teachers know that the spotlight is on them, for example, if a teacher has five or six repeaters in her class, then she would put out extra effort to assist those children,” Jones said.

Ministry figures show only 46 per cent of students at Denham Town Primary achieved mastery in the test, with 45 per cent achieving near mastery and nine percent non-mastery.

At John Mills Primary and Junior High, principal Jennifer Reynolds said 43 out of 55 students on the list for resitting actually rewrote the exam, the others having left the school since June for various reasons.

She chided the students’ parents and guardians for not showing enough interest in the education of their children.

“At my school we are really lacking in parental support. For you to know your child is sitting a test, and for you not to have the child’s uniform prepared and for the child to turn up half-hour to one hour late speaks to the parents’ lack of interest,” she said.

According to ministry figures, 43 per cent of students at John Mills achieved mastery; 35 per cent obtained near mastery and 22 per cent non-mastery.

Principal of Mona Heights Primary Wilton Bishop said his teachers mostly concentrated on reading in preparing more than 30 students who had to resit the test.

He commended education minister Andrew Holness and the education ministry for their reform of the G4LT.

“I think the minister was very wise in implementing this system where the children are promoted to grade five while having to redo the grade four test. In fact these children sit the exam again in June if they don’t achieve mastery this time, and again next year this time. So in all they have four chances at the exam,” Bishop said.

The principal said the teachers and the students remained calm even though they had to re-sit the exam. “Many of these students mastered one or two out the three areas, and missed out on the other area by only a few points,” he said. “We try to emphasise the positives rather than the negatives.”

At Mona Heights Primary, 84 per cent of the students achieved mastery in June, with 14 per cent at near mastery and two per cent at non-mastery.

In launching the new-look G4LT last year, Holness said administering the test would save the country money in the long run, as the state would not have to pay twice to teach the same children to read and compute.