KINGSTON, Jamaica – With the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) results for grade six students pending, Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams, says she is encouraged by the increase in the number of students who have scored in the proficient and highly proficient categories when compared to 2019.

Speaking at the Ministry of Education and Youth PEP Results Press Conference on Friday, Williams said a total of 36,105 students were registered to sit the 2023 Grade Six PEP Examinations this year.

She said that of the students who sat exams, 57 per cent scored in the proficient and highly proficient category in mathematics when compared to 41 per cent in 2019. In science, 64 per cent of students were proficient and highly proficient in comparison to 49 per cent in 2019. For social studies, 63 per cent in 2019, while 67 per cent in 2023. Language Arts saw a 55 per cent score in 2019, while 60 per cent of students scored in the categories this year.

For this reason, Williams is optimistic about the progress in literacy and numeracy for grade six students.

“We are encouraged by what we’re seeing. And we know going forward, we’ll continue the plans, we’ll continue the emphasis we had on literacy and numeracy. We’ll continue the coaching programmes that we have, all the strategies that our teachers use in the classroom to pull out students,” she said.

But she admitted there is still work to be done.

“Ideally, we’d like to send all our children to high school in the proficient or highly proficient category. We know that at the primary schools we have a lot of work still to do. We know when we look at our early childhood sector, having done the Age Four Assessment Test, we know individually the children we need to target so that when they start primary school, they can start at higher levels and the support goes with them through primary school, so that when they get to grade six, they have a chance to be in the proficient or highly proficient category,” Williams said, adding that or 85.8 per cent of students were placed at their preferred school of choice.

She is urging parents to support the students in their transition to secondary schools.

“We know that you have supported your children at different levels and we appreciate that because it cannot be just the teachers in the schools, it has to be you as well. We call on your support even more so, as your children transition to high school. It’s a more complex environment. It’s one in which they are expected to do things on their own. They will come into a situation in which they will be in classes with children from all over Jamaica, from different family structure, different homes. We know that sometimes they are led astray by others and, therefore, it is very important for parents, families to be there for your children,” Williams expressed.