ONLY about 26 per cent of preparatory schools operating in Jamaica are deemed to be performing “above average”.

Of approximately 242 preparatory schools operating in Jamaica, only 64 are top performers, says think tank Educate Jamaica.

The assessment is based on Educate Jamaica’s ‘Gold Standard Criteria’, from studies of school performance between 2009 and 2013.

“The Prep School Gold Standard publication tracks each prep school over five years… and it looks at how each school has performed in those five years,” Educate Jamaica says.

“It looks specifically at a school’s ability to maintain a consistent performance over the five years, which we believe is a good performance indicator for a school, and looking at data over five years allowed for deeper analysis as well as the identification of trends.

“For the five years, the measure we looked at specifically was the performance of each school in the GSAT examinations.”

The study results do not include schools that have been operating for less than three years, and those who aren’t doing poorly, but which lack consistency.

“There are also schools out there that are extremely close to the mark but not exactly there. In our analysis we excluded schools that had fewer than five students being submitted for GSAT sittings,” Educate Jamaica says.

The GSAT data used was the same performance data that is sent to each prep and primary school by the Government.

According to Educate Jamaica, the study, called ‘The Prep School Guide’, was done following a 2011 Jamaica Observer article titled ‘Prep School: A good investment or expensive gamble?’

The study ranked the schools performing above average based on the consistent grades of their students above the 80 per cent benchmark in GSAT in English language, mathematics, social studies and science, and getting 10 or more out of 12 allotted marks in communication task.

“For a school to be considered a Gold Standard school, it has to achieve the following annually in the GSAT examination: An average of 80 per cent or more in mathematics across the entire GSAT cohort; an average of 80 per cent or more in language arts across the entire GSAT cohort; an average of 80 per cent or more in social science across the entire GSAT cohort; an average of 80 per cent or more in science across the entire GSAT cohort, and an average of 80 per cent or more in composition across the entire GSAT cohort,” Educate Jamaica says.

The comprehensive report of the findings of Educate Jamaica was released last week on the educatejamaica.org website.

In August, the Educate Jamaica think tank created a buzz nationwide with its high-school rankings published on the same website.

The 64 schools which meet the Gold Standard criteria are:

Kingston and St AndrewArdenne Preparatory and Extension

Alvernia Preparatory

Avondale Preparatory

Creative Kids Learning Academy

Covenant Christian Academy

Dunrobin Preparatory

Emmanuel Christian Academy

Hillel Preparatory

Holy Childhood Preparatory

Hopefield Preparatory

Immaculate Conception Preparatory

King’s Gate Preparatory

Kingsway Preparatory

Liberty Academy at the Priory Preparatory

Mavisville Preparatory

Meadowbrook Preparatory

Mona Preparatory

Morris Knibb Preparatory

One Way Preparatory

Our Lady of the Angels Preparatory

Porter Centre for Knowledge

Quest Preparatory

Richmond Park Preparatory

St Andrew Preparatory

St Hugh’s Preparatory

St John the Baptist Preparatory

St Theresa Preparatory

Stella Maris Preparatory

St Peter and Paul Preparatory

The Queen’s Preparatory

Vaz Preparatory

Wolmer’s Preparatory

St Ann

Columbus Preparatory

The Glen Preparatory

Mar Jam Preparatory

Tomlinson Christian Academy

United Learning Centre Preparatory

St James

Montego Bay Christian Academy,

Cornwall Kindergarten & Preparatory

Heinz Simonitsch Preparatory

Hosanna Kindergarten & Preparatory

The Junior Plus Kindergarten & Preparatory

Montego Bay Preparatory

St James Kindergarten & Preparatory

St Mary’s Preparatory & Kindergarten

Supreme Preparatory & Kindergarten

Mount Alvernia Preparatory

Westmoreland

New Horizon Preparatory

Paradise Preparatory School

St Elizabeth

Black River Preparatory

Munro Preparatory

Santa Cruz Preparatory

Clarendon

Glenmuir Kindergarten & Preparatory

Manchester

El Instituto De Mandevilla

Belair Preparatory

Mount St Joseph Preparatory

Hanover

Hopewell Preparatory

Hanover Pre & Preparatory

St Catherine

Bread of Life Christian Preparatory

Bright Beginnings Educational Centre

Harrison’s Preparatory

Portmore Missionary Preparatory

St Catherine Preparatory

St Jago Cathedral Preparatory