The results of Jamaica’s performance in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is discouraging, but not surprising.

PISA is an international study that was launched by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1997 and was first administered in 2000. To date, 81 countries and economies have participated in the study. Every three years the PISA study provides comparative data on 15-year-olds’ performance in three academic areas, namely reading, mathematics, and science.

It is noteworthy that in the last sitting, which comprised approximately 690,000 students, only 14 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean participated in the study. In fact, it was Jamaica’s first attempt at the assessment, and we were the only Caricom or Caribbean English-speaking country represented. Therefore, the country should be commended for its participation as the results give fresh perspectives on the state of academic output in the country and shed light on the weak points to be addressed before the next survey.

The tests explore the extent to which students can solve complex problems, think critically, and communicate effectively. The OECD, in its report on the performance of Jamaican students, stated that the assessment “gives insight into how well education systems are preparing students for real-life challenges and future success”.

A total of 3,873 students from 147 high schools completed the assessment. Of this number 62 per cent of them were enrolled in grade 10. The OECD report stated that Jamaican students scored less than the OECD average in all three areas tested and that a smaller proportion of students in Jamaica, than on average across OECD countries, were top performers (level 5 or 6) in at least one subject. Singapore, China, Japan, and Estonia were some of the top-performing countries across the three disciplines tested.

The embarrassing underperformance of Jamaican students globally reveals once again that there are many gaps to be addressed in the education system. Perhaps the OECD report will cause the Government and other stakeholders to act more aggressively and briskly in treating with the findings and recommendations already echoed in the Orlando Patterson task force report on education.

There is yet to be any robust national discussion on how to address the deficiencies in the education system. The Patterson report found that a third of the nation’s children continue to enter the high school system illiterate; 40 per cent do not attain the standard for mastery of language arts at grade six; and 49 per cent do not do so in mathematics. In the same vein, less than 30 per cent of high school students who sit exams at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level obtain five subjects, including mathematics and English language, in a single sitting.

The fact that majority of the PISA test takers were fourth-form students — currently in fifth form and preparing for CSEC — is suggestive of the scores we may see later this year when the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) releases exam grades. I suppose we will take solace in the fact that these students are products of the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. We are currently dealing with similar cohorts at the university level. Notwithstanding, there are other factors, such as inadequate pedagogical resources and socio-economic setbacks that affect students’ learning.

On a positive note, the OECD highlighted that most of the students felt that they belong at school and their teachers spend extra time to assist them to achieve their learning goals. It means that we are doing well on the socio-affective side of the equation; however, we need to upscale academic performance.

It is obvious and repetitive to say that we need greater resources at the different levels of the education system. Priority ought to be given to early childhood education and training. If the foundation is weak, the building will crumble. Teaching assistants and intervention and reading specialists need to be normalised in our system, especially with oversized classes and learners with special needs. In addition, diverse pedagogies need to be practised on a wider scale. This is why I continue to lobby for our teachers’ college lecturers to engage in more research. We need to conduct different experiments and see what works and what can be improved.

Furthermore, we need to review curricula. There are several colleagues who have graduated from universities with graduate degrees in curriculum development. To what extent are they using their expertise? Certainly, it is an opportune time to examine the policies and curricula used by these top-performing PISA countries and see what we can learn from them.

Importantly, also, we need to get our parents to a certain level of literacy. Admittedly, there is a strong correlation between the home and school. Although children spend a considerable number of hours at school, learning should equally be balanced at home. Many children nowadays can effortlessly sing the latest raunchy dancehall songs accompanied by the choreographed dance routines but have limited abilities and interest in reading and writing.

Several of the educated people in Jamaica are migrating, including some of our best teachers and lecturers. How is the system going to address the educational needs of its country? We can no longer pussyfoot around these pressing matters.

Oneil Madden is a lecturer in languages at Northern Caribbean University and a PhD candidate in didactics and linguistics at Clermont Auvergne University, France. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or maddenoniel@yahoo.com.