He said persons have been trained to administer the examinations at which students are expected to turn up promptly.

According to Goolsarran, students are assessed at Grades Two, Four and Six and the scores are standardized: 5 % of the Grade Two scores, 10% of Grade Four scores and these are combined with 85% of the Grade Six scores to make the composite scores for the performance at primary level.

At Grades Two and Four they are examined in three areas – English, Mathematics and Reading. At Grade Six, they are assessed in four areas – English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. In the early years, focus is mainly on literacy and numeracy which are the stepping stones for them to benefit from higher education.

NCERD’s Director said students are placed based on their performance at the assessments. “The children are ranked in order of scores attained and they are placed in schools based on their scores. Schools are defined as class A, B and C and based on their performance they’ll be placed in those schools,” he said.

He said top ranking schools such as Queen’s College, Bishops High School, St. Roses High School, St. Stanislaus High School and St. Joseph High School are competed for nationally and when these schools are filled, placement is done in regional categories classified as grade A, B and C schools.

Goolsarran noted that the grades of the schools are not determined arbitrarily but on the basis of a school’s track record at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) over the past three years and based on their performance they are categorized as category A, B and C schools.

With the implementation of the student assessment process, parents are showing a greater interest in their children’s education especially at the Grades Two and Four level. “If you look at the extra lesson syndrome around the place you will see that at those early grades parents are taking greater interest in their children, placing greater emphasis on the level of literacy and numeracy,” he said.

As part of its mandate to improve the education system, the Ministry of Education replaced the Secondary School Entrance Examination (SSEE) with the National Grade Six Assessment which was implemented in 2006.

This year’s 18,700 students, is an increase over last year’s 17,630. The assessment process began in 2000, with several pilot projects. The annual examination papers throughout the country were integrated and used as the model countrywide enabling all teachers to be at the same level. This process was carried out by experienced practicing teachers from the University of Guyana and the Cyril Potter College of Education.