KINGSTON, Jamaica-  The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information is reporting that special accommodations were provided for 508 students who sat the Grade Six Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Ability Test last Thursday.

Special accommodations refer to support that is needed for students who have been deemed to have special needs and or learning challenges as outlined in a psycho-educational evaluation report.

The ministry told JIS News that the special accommodations provided include extra-time, assignment of a reader, writer, prompter or shadow, preferential seating in the examination centre, allowance of breaks during the examination, interpreters or linguistic aides for students whose first language is not English and printing of the examination in large print or braille.

Six applications were received for linguistic aides for students whose first language is Spanish and Mandarin.

The ministry advised that an additional 12 students sat the test from their hospital beds.

Of that number, seven were admitted at Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, two at Spanish Town Public Hospital in St Catherine, one at May Pen Hospital and two at St Ann’s Bay Hospital in Clarendon and St Ann, respectively.

“The Grade 6 PEP Ability Test was administered in keeping with the established standards except for the following minor issues, which were resolved at the regional level and or in collaboration with the Exam Branch – absence and late arrival of students, delayed start to the administration of exam, students not registered for the examination but turned up to sit and illness,” the ministry said.

Students who fell ill during the examination and could complete the paper, were given extra-time to do so.

The ministry also told JIS News that there were a few reports of students being admitted to the hospital on the day of the examination or who had a medical condition which worsened, and they were not able to do the examination.

The Exam Branch is awaiting reports from the schools along with medical certificates.

There was one case of trauma external to the school where a student lost his father tragically the night before the examination.

The student did not sit the examination, and the Exam Branch is awaiting a report from the school.

A total of 33,403 students were registered to sit the exam – 17,029 males and 16,374 females.

The Performance Task, which consists of two components – Language Arts and Mathematics – is to be administered on Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 20, respectively.

Students will then sit Language Arts and Science on Wednesday, April 30 and Mathematics and Social Studies on Thursday, May 1.

–          JIS