Where has the effort gone?
published: Sunday | May 30, 2004

THE EDITOR, Sir:

IN THE current school rating controversy I would like to point out that the GSAT creams off the best and sends to the traditional high schools. These are the children who have attained scores of between 85 per cent and 100 per cent because children are farmed out according to scores.

Given the above, could someone please explain to me how the best of our prep and primary deteriorate after spending five years in a secondary school? Just what are we doing wrong? I intentionally use WE, because parents are part of the problem too. The same parents that spent fortunes and time up to and including sitting in schoolyards on the day of the GSAT exams, are suddenly missing when the high school place is attained. Usually they tell you that the child has 'passed the worst'. So everyone gets a nasty surprise when the child, who has consistently performed poorly over the last five years, fails his/her CXC exams.

So where was everybody ­ teachers, parents, guidance councillors etc. prior to the exam results being published? Did no one notice that the children were in trouble? Where were the corrective measures? Or is it that no one really cares about the results, and what it means for our children, we only care about the embarrassment of a poor rating?

I am, etc.,

JEAN FORBES

jean_forbes@yahoo.com

59 Norbrook Drive,

Kingston 8