KINGSTON, Jamaica – Administration of the 2024 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) test for grade six will begin on February 22, 2024, with the sitting of the Ability Test.

Grade-six students will sit the Performance Task on March 20 and 21, 2024, and the curriculum-based test on April 24 and 25, 2024.

Acting Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Terry- Ann Thomas-Gayle said 34,878 students are registered to sit the exams. This comprises 17,721 males, and 17,157 females.

She informed that provisions have been made for students who have indicated special needs.

“As always, the ministry focuses on a holistic education programme for our students. We have 435 students that are scheduled to receive special accommodation for PEP six, 2024,” Thomas-Gayle said.

“[Of this number], 122 were new requests in grade six and we have a carry-forward of 313 students who would have received this accommodation at grade five, and they will be given the accommodation at grade six as well. We also have 13 applicants receiving linguistic aids,” she noted.

Registration for PEP six 2024 commenced October 2023 and closed January 2024.

Although registration was officially closed, the ministry official said students of the age group who have not previously registered to sit the exams will be accommodated.

“If there are any students of the age group who were not registered and did not receive a timetable, we are asking that the parent or the teachers ensure these students sit the exam. The year of birth for these students should be those born 2011, 2012, or 2013. Once they were born [in any of those years] and would have sat the grade-four and -five [examinations], if they were not registered to sit the PEP six 2024, they are allowed to sit the exam tomorrow (Thursday),” Thomas-Gayle said.

“They can just send them to the schools’ exam centres. Our presiding examiners and principals are aware of the process and they will make the accommodation and have the student sit the exam and register at the end of the examination,” she added.

Thomas-Gayle said that no primary-level institution has been selected as a polling station (for persons who will vote prior to February 26), so the children should be safe going out tomorrow. “There will be no disturbances at their examination centres,” she said.

The grade-five PEP assessment for the Performance Task is scheduled for June 5 and 6, 2024. The grade-four PEP assessment Performance Task is scheduled for June 19 and 20, 2024.

-JIS