To say we are flabbergasted by the news coming out of Holy Trinity High School regarding the high percentage of first formers who are reading at or below the grade-four level would mean we are hypocritical.

We know that there are many other schools facing the same situation. In a news story written by Jason Cross in Thursday’s print of the Jamaica Observer entitled ‘Literacy rates expected to leap with ‘ARROW’, there was mention of Haile Selassie High School, Norman Manley High School, Kingston High School, Spot Valley High School, Grange Hill High School, all of which have serious literacy concerns. If I were to list the other underperforming schools, it would probably consume this entire column.

Yearly we celebrate the amazing passes and placements of children leaving grade six to go to traditional high schools. Five and seven years later, we, again, celebrate these same students after their well-earned passes in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams. Only a meagre number of exceptional passes come out of the upgraded and non-traditional high schools.

But are we shocked? Of course not! If the bright ones are sent to a certain calibre of school, it is not rocket science that they will outperform the slow ones who are sent to low-resourced schools, which often lack strong leadership.

What if the Ministry of Education and Youth switched around their placement method for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) students over the next few years? How about sending the slow (or at least some) students to Campion College, Immaculate Conception High School, and Ardenne High School and placing the bright ones at schools like Holy Trinity High School and Kingston High School? Don’t we think the teachers at these non-performing schools need a break from excessive disruptive behaviour and poor passes? Maybe the ambience at these traditional schools would change.

Last month I questioned whether the education system was a failure. I opined that, “The same education system places the bright ones in enviable traditional high schools, while the slow ones are sent to the ‘back a di class, no have no subject’ high schools. What’s worse is that the same system then inspects the schools and categorises the non-performing ones as failing schools. Ironically, the same system sets up the students and schools to fail.”

The National Education Inspectorate presented a detailed report in 2011 on the state of teaching and learning at Holy Trinity High School. At the time, the profile of the students reflected students who were generally performing below the national average in the now-discontinued Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). The findings further showed that the majority of students were from inner-city communities and a significant percentage of the students’ families was unemployed and unskilled. Additionally, the report highlighted unsatisfactory teaching methods employed by the teachers at the time and a lack of differentiation.

There are a few questions to ask: Has there been any noticeable improvement in the school’s performance since 2011? Have the teachers been given the necessary workshops and resources to help them improve their practice? Has management improved?

Notwithstanding, the issue is not only a Holy Trinity problem. These students are coming from particular feeder schools, hence the need to strengthen early childhood and primary education.

The education system needs to train and deploy more literary and intervention specialists within the schools. A lot of times the regular classroom teachers notice the learning challenges, but they are too consumed with trying to meet the needs of the “normal” students that they involuntarily neglect the slow ones.

The foundation has to be fixed. It would make it so much easier for both students and teachers when they get to the higher grade levels. Have we thought about the humiliation that many of the slow ones experience? They are often labelled as dunces and disruptors, but has the system created an environment in which they can thrive?

Let us make the early childhood education sector attractive. Teachers leaving the teachers’ college system should be excited about moulding young minds, knowing that they have the requisite resources and compensation to complement their passion. Special education personnel should not have to be in a wrangle with their administration and the education ministry when it comes on to testing and placing special needs children in facilities that cater to them.

Let us also strengthen the quality of teachers we produce. The truth is that our teachers’ colleges lack specialists in methodology. In the same breath, the colleges should continue to step up their research agenda. It is through action research and subsequent publications that we will have a better understanding of our context and be able to employ best practices to guide what and how we execute our teaching.

Oneil Madden is interim chair/head of Department of Humanities and lecturer in language(s) and linguistics at Northern Caribbean University. He is also a PhD candidate in applied linguistics at Clermont Auvergne University, France. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or maddenoniel@yahoo.com.