By THEA RUTHERFORD, NG National Correspondent, thea@nasguard.com

While commending the Ministry of Education and the nation's teachers on their hard work, which reportedly resulted in improvements in the BJC and BGCSE national average, the National Coalition for Education Reform said in a press statement yesterday that the recent result release was "an understatement" that "did not reveal the severity of the problem."

"On matters relating to education in The Bahamas, one cannot ignore the comments of public school principals who echo our concerns about the number of students entering the workforce with only an attendance certificate and in many instances, not even that," the statement read.

The Coalition, chaired by Kerzner International Senior VP of Administration, J. Barrie Farrington, largely consists of hotel industry and trade union groups. It was formed and produced a report in 2004 in response to an unsettling number of high school graduates applying for jobs with limited English Language and Math skills.

Deeply concerned, the Coalition looked for answers and produced a researched and widely circulated report entitled "Bahamian Youth: The Untapped Resource" in 2005.

The report outlined and analyzed the 2004 BGCSE results, highlighting "high school performance, male achievement and college preparation" gaps throughout the education system. The report also put forth 14 strategies for improving the system. Those strategies ranged from testing and longer school hours to promoting good parenting and constructive partnering with businesses. The Coalition returned with a second report reiterating the pressing points of the first report two years later.

The Ministry of Education has initiated some of the programs alluded to in the report in the school system in various forms.

The Coalition's most recent commentary on the release of the 2008 BJC and BGCSE results come on the heels of an announcement by the Ministry of Education that the national average for the BJC examinations has risen from a D+ to a C-, and the average for the BGCSE has risen from a D to a D+.

Moderate increases in the number of students who received at least a C in five or more subjects were recorded for both the BJC and the BGCSE this year, according to education officials. There were also similar increases in the number of students who were awarded grades between A and D on the ministry's seven-point grade system, where a D represents an average mark.

However, the mean math grade for the BGCSE remained at an E, a mark it has held for the past five years. And the English Language mark, which currently stands at a D, has fluctuated between a D and D- for the past five years.

"While we applaud the recent improvements to the national average, it remains to be seen if these are part of a positive trend or a fluctuation as has occurred within the D range over the years," the Coalition said. "Sustained improvement year over year, subject by subject, school by school, will point to true progress."

Pointing out that the BJC improvement came primarily from Family Island schools and New Providence private schools, the statement said, "very little improvement was realized in the New Providence-based public schools. Similarly, the BGCSE results showed a two-fold improvement in the Family Island schools versus the New Providence-based schools and no details were provided for the private schools."

The Coalition called for a release of more detailed exam results and performance indicators, as it wishes to examine scores and other indicators more thoroughly.

"This should include providing details of the exam results by school, by grade level, all subject categories, and very importantly by gender, for public and private schools," the statement said.

"Additional information such as graduation and drop-out rates, diploma achievement levels, classroom size, and attendance rates should also be shared with the public as a measure of ensuring continued analysis of student performance and support for initiatives aimed at improving key measurements."

The Coalition also stressed the need for the education system to adopt a standardized diploma system.

"In a mid July statement, the minister (of education) indicated that this problem has existed since the inception of education and that the ministry is doing everything that it can to address the problem. While we recognize the formidable challenges which the ministry faces, the Coalition firmly believes that this is not a Ministry of Education problem but a national problem," the statement said.

"We continue to challenge the ministry, government leaders and the nation to commit to seeking bold solutions to looking outside of the Ministry of Education for new ideas and concepts that can have a profound and sustained impact on this country."