KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Thousands of students attending primary schools across the island are scheduled to sit the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy examinations on June 21 and June 22.

The tests are administered to children to determine their literacy and numeracy, at grade four, in keeping with international requirements and standards.

For the numeracy segment, students will be tested on number operation and representation; measurement and geometry, and algebra and statistics. The literacy component will comprise word recognition; reading comprehension; and writing.

The tests are diagnostic in nature and after completion students may be assigned a mastery level, almost mastery level or non-mastery.

At the mastery level students must attain mastery on all three sub-tests/strand combinations; to be assigned almost mastery, students should master one or two sub-tests/strand combinations and students who have not mastered any of the sub-tests/strand combinations are at the non-mastery level.

In 2009 the Ministry of Education initiated the Competency Based Transition Policy, which stipulates that no child will be allowed to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) without being certified as achieving mastery in the Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Test.

Students who do not attain mastery in both areas are required to re-sit the examinations in Grade Five.