(CNS): Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has said the community should recognise the positive developments and improvements at government schools regardless of concerns about the poor 2022 results. The minister explained that, because of the pandemic, grades in 2020 were achieved through teacher-assessed grades rather than standardised external tests. She also noted that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) was one of a very small group of boards that administered external exams that year.

“Countries that used these international and regional exam boards saw a decrease in the percentage of high-level grades for 2022 compared to 2021,” the minister said in a statement defending the work of her ministry. “Worldwide, the percentage of 2022 high-level passes was similar to those achieved in 2019. The same is true for the Cayman Islands, where math scores for Year 11 in 2022 were statistically equivalent to those in 2019.”

O’Connor-Connolly said there was evidence outside of the Data Report released by the ministry that school improvement overall has been raised. Compared to the previous inspection cycle in 2018/2019, government schools showed notable improvements during the 2022 cycle, with the number of criteria across schools judged ‘weak’ falling significantly.

“Government schools have made noteworthy progress during the inspection cycles,” the minister said. “The lack of negative evaluations in the areas assessed by the OES indicates that schools are working hard to attain excellence.’ Last year, there were no weak judgements by inspectors in secondary schools in categories of ‘assessments’, ‘curriculum’ or ‘teaching’, the ministry said. Inspectors recorded improvements for government primary and secondary schools in the area of ‘positive behaviour for learning’.

The minister admitted that there are problems when it comes to mathematics. Just 42% of students at the end of Year 6 reached the expected level in mathematics last year. However, she noted that Cayman is not the only country dealing with poor maths results because it related to the way results were arrived at in 2020 and 2021, given the disruption to learning by COVID-19.

“Overall, student attainment in math was not ideal,” she said. “This is not an isolated issue in the Cayman Islands, as there has been a global decline in student performance in mathematics compared to 2020 and 2021. One of the factors impacting this reality in 2020 is the manner in which grades were assigned to students by examining boards, through teacher-assessed grades rather than standardised external tests.”

The minister continued, “Despite expectations, public schools are adding value to students in math, English, and science. The Year 11 group in 2022 performed better than expected by over ¾ of a grade point on average in all three subjects. Additionally, they exceeded expectations by over a grade point in English and science. The ministry is taking steps to enhance students’ progress and academic performance in math.”

O’Connor-Connolly said the ministry was implementing the Schools Numeracy Strategy, which includes training for school leaders in the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCTEM) Mastery Pathway.

“Our educators are also participating in professional development sessions to improve students’ confidence and support teaching fundamental math concepts,” she said. “Once fully trained, school practitioners will use a combination of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments to determine the level of intervention, consolidation, or enrichment needed for each student.”

Fourteen specialist maths teachers are being recruited to be placed in primary schools at the start of the 2023/2024 academic year.

“We understand that it takes time to see improvements in student performance. Research has shown that it typically takes around three years to see successful changes in an elementary school and up to six years in a secondary school,” noted O’Connor-Connolly, who has said she is retiring from politics at the next election in 2025.

“Our ministerial programmes and initiatives, initiated by the DES, demonstrate our schools’ steady progress over time. Our commitment to providing the best educational opportunities for our children remains strong,” she added.