Dear Editor,

There is an intense debate about the quality of schools that can produce fruitful outcomes if Jamaicans are willing to embrace excellence.

Educators have taken umbrage with the designation of some institutions as failing schools, but they ought to appreciate that failing is a standard like success and without that standard success cannot exist. Instead of grappling with the reality that many students and teachers are mediocre, policymakers and educators downplay failure by arguing that there is more to school than academics. Obviously, schools impart values and positive attitudes, but producing intelligent and work-oriented students is a primary function of schooling.

In 2018, the mock Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exam recorded poor pass rates, and the ministry reported a combination of standard met and standard nearly met to indicate satisfactory performance. That’s utter nonsense, students either failed or passed. There is no way the education system can advance when policymakers shamelessly capitulate to mediocrity. To deliver quality education, Jamaica must follow Singapore and Finland by ensuring that the best graduates become teachers and students are held to rigorous standards.

Another pressing issue is that academic performance is highly genetic since the selection for intelligence is stronger in some populations. According to a 2018 study in the journal Science of Learning, genes explain more of the variance in student performance than school quality. So, essentially, elite schools are doing well due to the genetic potential of their students. Moreover, intelligence is highly heritable, based on the findings of a 2014 study published in the journal Intelligence; therefore, highly intelligent people are more likely to have smart children who do well in school than those who are less intelligent.

Such results pose a serious dilemma for a country like Jamaica with a low IQ score of 75.08, as pointed out in the 2019 book, The Intelligence of Nations.

Considering these facts, policymakers are misguided in thinking that the typical Jamaican student will succeed academically. However, Jamaican students can still prosper without becoming star scholars. The solution is to turn most high schools into technical academies that will be managed by the HEART/NSTA Trust. Jobs requiring technical skills are in demand, for example, there are welders in America who earn over $US100,000 annually, so students should not be pressured into becoming scholars.

Until policymakers change course, the Government will continue to waste resources educating students who are unsuited for a grammar education and taxpayers will be saddled with the bill.

Lipton Matthews

lo_matthews@yahoo.com