OF the 197 Kensington Primary School students who sat the 2010 Grade Six Achievement test (GSAT), 99 per cent, or 195, were placed in traditional high schools, two of them on scholarships.

That, among other compelling statistics, demonstrate the leading status enjoyed by the Portmore, St Catherine school which has 1252 students on roll. It also explains the reason parents are scrambling to get their offsprings into the school.

At the recent graduation exercise held at the Victory Tabernacle auditorium in Bayside, Principal C McCalla Francis joyfully reeled off the numbers that testified to her stewardship and that of her team.

* Of the 188 students at Kensington who sat the inaugural Grade One Individual Learning Profile in the nation’s public schools in August 2009, 65 or 34 per cent were unable to understand concepts; 45 or 23 per cent could read at the Grade One level; 59 or 31 per cent mastered Oral Language; while 75 or 39 per cent mastered General Knowledge; and 70 or 37 per cent were writing at the grade one level.

“Today, there are 15 children still not understanding concepts and 10 children being unable to follow directions; 13 have not mastered oral language, while 19 are not reading at the grade level,” commented Francis.

* In the Education Ministry’s Grade Three Diagnostic Test administered on June 15 and 16, of the 198 students who participated in mathematics, 184 or 94 per cent were at the mastery level, 12 or six per cent were at the near mastery level and two or one per cent was at the non-mastery level. For language arts, 175 or 88 per cent were at the mastery level, 22 or one per cent were at the near mastery level and three or one per cent were at the non-mastery level.

* In the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Tests administered on June 29, 2010, Kensington Primary had 99 per cent mastery in literacy and 94 per cent in numeracy.

“Here I must point out that Kensington Primary is the only primary school, having entered over 200 students, achieved 99 per cent mastery in literacy and 94 per cent in numeracy,” Francis emphasised.

* In the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) administered on March 25 and 26 this year, 197 students sat the exam, with 195 or 99 per cent placed in high schools. The remaining two or one per cent were placed in a junior high school. Marks ranged from a high of 100 per cent to a low of 25 per cent.

“Based on the GSAT results, we have the highest average as a primary school in Portmore, the highest in St Catherine and the highest in Region Six,” the principal noted. “This year, we saw our averages moving from a 75 per cent in mathematics to 76 per cent; we moved from an average of 72 per cent in science to 79 per cent; from a 74 per cent in social studies to 79 per cent; from a 72 per cent in language arts to 76 per cent and, from 75 per cent in communication task to 83 per cent.

But Francis had a strong word for parents who did not live up to their responsibilities in their children’s education.

“The teachers planted, however, some parents and students did not water. Teachers had to put up with no homework, no books, no project, irregular attendance, poor discipline, and lateness which took away some quality teaching time,” Francis complained.

Referring to the rush for space in the school, Francis could not resist noting that parents who “no longer can afford private school are fighting to get a space in the top primary schools and Kensington is one such school”.

“Today you are here to celebrate with your children and we are happy. However, for some, your involvement in your child’s life since September is cause for concern… You are in for a rude awakening at high school. No longer will they be treated as babies but as high school students, they will have to take charge of their own learning.”

However, Francis added that Kensington was determined to uphold the standard of excellence for which it is known, and she stressed that the achievements would not have been possible without the hard work of the teachers.

“Teachers, the long hours you spent at school from as early as 6:00 am to as late as 7:00 pm, show your level of commitment to the task at hand. The many quarrels I had with you to let them go before night fall and your response: ‘But Miss a you want good results, if it is no good this year, don’t blame us’.”

— Desmond Allen