Denies manipulation of national scores

By ROGAN M. SMITH, Guardian Senior Reporter, rogan@nasguard.com

A senior official in the Ministry of Education has fired back at a Tribune article alleging that education officials manipulated GPA scores, by using sleight of hand tactics and cherry picking, so that only the brightest students would sit national examinations.

In a press statement issued during the weekend, Education Minister Carl Bethel responded to comments attributed to unnamed sources in The Tribune's front page article. The sources questioned the validity of the increase in the grade point average.

But, Bethel says the content of the article reflects "a lack of understanding of the process and procedures used for the development and accreditation of national examinations."

The article alleges that the ministry limited the number of exams that underachieving students were allowed to take, thereby limiting the number of failing grades that schools would otherwise reap.

The article also suggests that Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations were far easier than last year's exams.

"The Ministry of Education emphatically denies these allegations, which can only serve to attempt to diminish the value of student achievement in 2008 and the hard work of teachers, administrators, students and parents in their quest to achieve excellence in education," Bethel said.

"The Ministry of Education emphatically reiterates its denial that there has been any manipulation of any kind of the grades, standards or difficulty of any of the national examinations. The ministry has every confidence in the integrity, competence and commitment of all officials and stakeholders both national and international in their adherence to the highest standards of assessment of student achievement."

According to the ministry, examinations are designed, set and evaluated years in advance of the actual exam.

In the case of the BJC examinations, the papers were completed in March of 2007, approximately 14 months in advance of the sitting date, and before the 2007 BJC exams had even been taken by students in May 2007.

BJC subjects are also determined and examination papers set after consulting with local external stakeholders such as the College of the Bahamas, independent schools, the Chamber of Commerce and relevant Subject Councils.

Furthermore, Bethel says 2008 BGCSE examinations were set, completed, and certified by the University of Cambridge in December of 2006.

The university vets the actual proposed questions in the draft exam papers to ensure adherence to standards.

Therefore, Bethel says the results of the May 2007 examinations could not have possibly had any influence on the difficulty, or alleged lack thereof, of the 2008 examinations.

In each case, the same procedure and certification process has been followed by the ministry since the inception of the BGCSE in 1993, and the re-introduction of the BJC in 1994.

Bethel said each year, the University of Cambridge ensures and certifies in writing that the grades awarded to candidates for the BGCSE are equivalent to the modern UK GCSE and the previous GCE O level grades.

The Tribune article also further accused the Ministry of Education and High School Administrators of 'cherry picking' and restricting the number of students allowed to sit exams and the number of subjects they were allowed to enter to sit.

But in 2007 students sat 23,927 examinations. In 2008 students sat 24,489 examinations - 562 more examination papers were taken by students over the previous year.

The Ministry of Education revealed last week that the National Grade Point Average for the BGCSE had risen to a D+. The National Grade Point Average for the BJC had, significantly, risen to a C-.

"This is a first. This is the first time since the re-introduction of the BJC in 1994, 14 years ago, that a majority of students taking that national examination have achieved a national average that is above average. A 'C' grade is an above average grade on the seven-point scale used in both the BGCSE and the BJC," Bethel said.