KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is advising school principals that students now in Grade 5, who did not attain mastery in the 2016 Grade 4 Numeracy and Literacy Tests, are to be included among the students sitting the exams this year.

The 2017 Grade 4 Literacy Test is set for Wednesday, June 21, and the Grade 4 General Achievement in Numeracy is set for Thursday, June 22.The ministry said it was aware of the anxiety many parents are having about the upcoming examination and is therefore asking school administrators to convey to parents that there are no changes in the format or content of these two assessments as they are not curriculum based. They are instead designed to measure students’ mastery level in literacy and numeracy.The format, the ministry explained, remains as follows:Grade 4 Literacy Test will constitute three sections.Part A is Word Recognition and is marked out of a total of 40 marks. Part B is Reading Comprehension and is marked out of a total of 30 marks and Section Three is the Writing Task, which has tasks 1 and 2.In this section of the examination students are assigned levels based on a rating scale of 0 – 8.General Achievement in Numeracy/Grade 4 Numeracy Test has two papers.Paper 1 consists of 46 multiple choice items and students are given 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete this paper.Paper 2 consists of three open-ended questions and students are given 20 minutes to complete these items.The ministry has also issued general reminders to better prepare students for the upcoming examinations.These are:1) Students should be reminded to listen to the instruction of the Presiding Examiners and act accordingly.2) They should also be encouraged to be careful in representing their answers on the bubble sheets provided for Part A and B on the Literacy Test and Paper 1 for the Numeracy Test; as such mistakes can cause students to lose a mark for a question. As a result students should be reminded that when completing their responses they are to ensure that the number that is being shaded on the answer sheet matches the number in the test question booklets.3) Students must be reminded to use 2B pencils to shade on the bubble sheet. When they have selected their response they must ensure that they shade the bubble representing their response fully. If they want to change their response they must erase completely and then shade the new selection.4) Students should also be encouraged to answer all questions on the examination, as well as manage their time effectively.5) Principals and teachers are asked to ensure that in the midst of all other activities scheduled for the month of June; adequate time is spent giving students the opportunity to master the relevant concepts.On the mornings of both the Literacy and Numeracy examinations, parents must ensure that their children are provided with a warm and full breakfast. All students should get sufficient rest the nights before both examinations.