THE Ministry of Education has given no indication that it will phase out multigrade schools, despite concerns over their effectiveness in delivering on quality learning outcomes for the mostly rural students who are enrolled in them.

According to the ministry, there is no evidence of a direct link between the multigrade school system — which currently sees students from up to three different grades sharing a single classroom space and one teacher in 33 per cent of Jamaica’s primary and primary and junior high schools — and poor performance.

Yet, the ministry admits that their research has revealed that deficiencies in resources, teacher competence, physical environment and ethos, as well as leadership — all of which plague multigrade schools — impact negatively on student performance.

“The pattern of performance in our multigrade schools suggest… that there may be a relationship between those factors that characterise these schools and performance. It is usually expected that schools with a low teacher-student ratio will perform at a higher level than the national average, but this is not usually the case with Jamaica’s multigrade schools,” said Grace McLean, acting permanent secretary in the ministry, in a written response to Career & Education queries.

Using diagnostic and performance tests, such as the Grade One Individual Learning Profile, the Grade Three Diagnostic Test, the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Tests and the Grade Six Achievement Test, the ministry is able to track the progress of these schools and report that the general performance ranges from poor to fair. Inspections are also carried out by the National Education Inspectorate, which reveal the same thing.

The findings would seem to suggest that there is yet hope for multigrade schools that are underperforming. At the same time, the ministry has said that there are some likely benefits to be derived from the multigrade school system, notably:

* the possibility of students’ weaknesses being better diagnosed in cases where the classes are still very small;

* that children may be better at independent learning and are more able to develop a greater sense of responsibility.

To that end, McLean said: “It is important that these schools be given all the support necessary so that rural poverty and their attendant problems are not entrenched.”

It is against this background that the Multigrade Project initiative was conceptualised and implemented. One feature of that initiative was the creation and distribution, in 2008, of the Manual for Teachers of Multigrade Schools. One element of the manual is the reorganisation of the curriculum to better facilitate the simultaneous teaching of two or three grade levels.

Another project — began in 2005 and funded through the Organisation of American States — is aimed at reducing the incidence of rural poverty through interventions in multigrade schools. The ministry said that project, which is now in its final year, has been yielding results, including:

* the training of teachers of multigrade schools, officers and teachers’ college lecturers in multigrade teaching strategies; and

* the development and provision of audio, audiovisual and musical instruments and equipment for multigrade classes.

It has also provided presentation equipment for the ministry’s Core Curriculum Unit.

Meanwhile, the challenges faced by multigrade schools have been attested to by Stevie Williams, principal of one of rural Jamaica’s multigrade schools — Auchtembeddie All-Age in Manchester.

Chief among them, he said, is the issue of resources which are provided by the ministry on the basis of the number of students enrolled in the school.

“You will get resource or grants per capita, so if you have 20 students, then you are going to get per capita for 20 students. It is the same amount of resources to teach 20 students as to teach 10,” said Williams, who has 68 children enrolled in his institution. “If you are writing on a chalkboard, you are writing for everybody one time, if you are using a stick of chalk to write for two students, it is the same stick of chalk that would be used for 50 students, for example.”

According to Williams, as principal, he is often expected to be away from school, but because he teaches a grade four class, this means that when he is away his class has to be left to a teacher who would likely already be teaching two other grades.

He has suggested that the ministry use the strategy of zoning to deal with the situation of multigrade schools.

“One thing I think they are totally afraid of is zoning. I think if they decide that if students live in certain areas they should attend the schools (in those areas) and if they resource these schools and staff these schools then this can be alleviated,” Williams said.

Additionally, he noted that the ministry could consider partnering with the HEART Trust/NTA or the National Youth Service to train young people as teacher-assistants in a bid to address any inadequacies in staffing.

Further, Williams said it would make sense if there was a special student-teacher ratio for small or multigrade schools. Currently, the ratio is 35 student s to a teacher.