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As a science lover this is heart breaking.... To study science is the acme of study.. it is a discipline.. It was veiwed as the smart ones did science the not so smart did other things.... I spend a life time more than thirty years reading science papers.. to compliment not having completed grade two.... How can u be smart and not be fascinated by science????
Would you knowingly put your life in the hands of a C-grade doctor? How about having bridges designed by someone who just barely mastered engineering?
Merely passing is not enough. William Johnson and his team of researchers have examined student performance in the sciences in the 2009 CSEC examination between 2009 and 2010 and the results are dismal. They have expressed concerns about the implication for Jamaica. The Sunday Gleaner examines this study and looks at what obtains in the science labs and science-based industries in Jamaica.
A DETAILED analysis of the 2009 and 2010 science results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) conducted by William Johnson, director of research for Johnson Survey Research, shows that Jamaican students are grossly underperforming in science education.
In the face of rapid globalisation, science and technology are becoming "increasingly crucial to maintaining relevance", Johnson said, and this motivated him to take a fresh look at science education.
Using data from the grade 11 cohort of students in secondary high schools, upgraded high schools and technical high schools across the island, Johnson looked at the pass rate in five subject areas: biology, chemistry, human and social biology, integrated science, and physics.
"Looking at the per cent of students who pass these tests out of the total number in that grade results in an image that is far less rosy than some may have led to believe," Johnson said, making reference to the Ministry of Education's analysis which uses a different approach and paints a different scenario.
Johnson's results show that in 2009, 8.9 per cent of students passed biology, 7.9 per cent chemistry, 14.3 per cent human and social biology, 13.3 per cent integrated science and 7.3 per cent physics.
In 2010, there was a small improvement in biology (9.4 per cent) and physics (7.8 per cent). For chemistry, there was no change; however, fewer students were successful in integrated science (13 per cent), and human and social biology (13.9 per cent).
Unlike Johnson's survey, the Ministry of Education creates what the researcher terms a "homogenous solution, wherein all that is reported are the number of students who passed, out of the number who sat for it.
"This form of calculation does not include students who could have sat for the exam, but, for whatever reason, did not," Johnson said.
Improved passes
However, he lauded the Ministry of Education's reports of increasing pass percentages in science CSEC in recent years.
"Biology, chemistry, human and social biology, integrated science and physics all experienced a consistent rise from 2007 to 2009 ... yet, across the board for all science CSECs administered, a noticeable drop occurred," noted Johnson.
The ministry's data report decreasing pass-percentages in all five science subject areas between 2009 and 2010. Students fell down badly in human and social biology (from 74.9 per cent to 68.2) and integrated science (from 82.9 per cent to 72.8). The results for the other subjects were as follows: chemistry from 76.9 per cent to 70; integrated science from 82.9 per cent to 78, and physics from 75.2 per cent to 72.8.
This result, which Johnson feels does not paint a realistic picture, represents a combination of secondary, upgraded and technical schools.
"These figures fail to describe a lurking problem in the educational institution as a whole - that being the colossal gap in the number of students marked as passing between types of school," he said.
A breakdown of the science data by school using Johnson's methodology shows that secondary high schools outperformed upgraded and technical high schools in all areas except integrated science.
Explaining the importance of science and technology to economic development and the need to get accurate assessments of how Jamaica's future is stacked, Johnson made reference to Dr Ralph Thompson, who has challenged the Ministry of Education's system of describing successes in examinations.
"As an education activist, he (Thompson) believes that the ministry's system causes many people to misunderstand the current educational conditions of Jamaica," said the research analyst.
[email protected]
Would you knowingly put your life in the hands of a C-grade doctor? How about having bridges designed by someone who just barely mastered engineering?
Merely passing is not enough. William Johnson and his team of researchers have examined student performance in the sciences in the 2009 CSEC examination between 2009 and 2010 and the results are dismal. They have expressed concerns about the implication for Jamaica. The Sunday Gleaner examines this study and looks at what obtains in the science labs and science-based industries in Jamaica.
A DETAILED analysis of the 2009 and 2010 science results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) conducted by William Johnson, director of research for Johnson Survey Research, shows that Jamaican students are grossly underperforming in science education.
In the face of rapid globalisation, science and technology are becoming "increasingly crucial to maintaining relevance", Johnson said, and this motivated him to take a fresh look at science education.
Using data from the grade 11 cohort of students in secondary high schools, upgraded high schools and technical high schools across the island, Johnson looked at the pass rate in five subject areas: biology, chemistry, human and social biology, integrated science, and physics.
"Looking at the per cent of students who pass these tests out of the total number in that grade results in an image that is far less rosy than some may have led to believe," Johnson said, making reference to the Ministry of Education's analysis which uses a different approach and paints a different scenario.
Johnson's results show that in 2009, 8.9 per cent of students passed biology, 7.9 per cent chemistry, 14.3 per cent human and social biology, 13.3 per cent integrated science and 7.3 per cent physics.
In 2010, there was a small improvement in biology (9.4 per cent) and physics (7.8 per cent). For chemistry, there was no change; however, fewer students were successful in integrated science (13 per cent), and human and social biology (13.9 per cent).
Unlike Johnson's survey, the Ministry of Education creates what the researcher terms a "homogenous solution, wherein all that is reported are the number of students who passed, out of the number who sat for it.
"This form of calculation does not include students who could have sat for the exam, but, for whatever reason, did not," Johnson said.
Improved passes
However, he lauded the Ministry of Education's reports of increasing pass percentages in science CSEC in recent years.
"Biology, chemistry, human and social biology, integrated science and physics all experienced a consistent rise from 2007 to 2009 ... yet, across the board for all science CSECs administered, a noticeable drop occurred," noted Johnson.
The ministry's data report decreasing pass-percentages in all five science subject areas between 2009 and 2010. Students fell down badly in human and social biology (from 74.9 per cent to 68.2) and integrated science (from 82.9 per cent to 72.8). The results for the other subjects were as follows: chemistry from 76.9 per cent to 70; integrated science from 82.9 per cent to 78, and physics from 75.2 per cent to 72.8.
This result, which Johnson feels does not paint a realistic picture, represents a combination of secondary, upgraded and technical schools.
"These figures fail to describe a lurking problem in the educational institution as a whole - that being the colossal gap in the number of students marked as passing between types of school," he said.
A breakdown of the science data by school using Johnson's methodology shows that secondary high schools outperformed upgraded and technical high schools in all areas except integrated science.
Explaining the importance of science and technology to economic development and the need to get accurate assessments of how Jamaica's future is stacked, Johnson made reference to Dr Ralph Thompson, who has challenged the Ministry of Education's system of describing successes in examinations.
"As an education activist, he (Thompson) believes that the ministry's system causes many people to misunderstand the current educational conditions of Jamaica," said the research analyst.
[email protected]