(CNS): Students in government schools are making steady progress, according to a report released by the Ministry of Education (MoE). But according to the Data Report for the Academic Year 2020-21, just 40.3% of Year 11 students achieved the national standard target of five or more Level 2 subjects including English and mathematics. (See Level 2 criteria.)
Some students are doing very well, with 35% of this year group achieving honour status, passing seven or more subjects at L2 including English and mathematics. The data also shows that girls outperform boys in all subjects, including sciences. Overall, many students are still not performing at the targetted standards, but the report noted that most did better than expected and the general trend in results is improving.
Ministry officials said in the report that the results should be compared to those of 2019, which show a slight gain, rather than to those of 2020, which show a fairly sharp decrease, suggesting that last year was an outlier in terms of results due to changes in the exam process because of the COVID lockdown.
The report shows that the additional compulsory school year helps to improve outcomes for students. The cumulative national performance indicators at the end of Year 12 indicate that 87% of the year group had achieved Level 2 qualifications in English by the end of that year and 64% achieved the national target of five or more L2 qualifications including English and mathematics.
Students are divided into attainment groups and, based on tests and assessments ahead of the exams that set the predicted expectations, the performance metrics indicate that the actual external examination results significantly exceeded those predictions, particularly in English and science. The ministry and the Department of Education Services (DES) said the 2020-2021 academic year results show that overall student achievements at the end of Years 11 and 12 had passed expectations.
“Despite the numerous challenges that have occurred over the past few years, students’ performance has continued to improve with the support of their parents and our hardworking team of educators,” said Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly.
There is also evidence of improvement in science results, with a notable increase in the percentage of students who obtained a passing grade in at least one science subject by the end of Year 12 compared to 2019. Overall, the 79% pass rate in at least one science subject represents the highest national average for any cohort.
The increase in science passes was welcomed by Chief Officer Cetonya Cacho, who said it was evidence that more students are taking advantage of the opportunities provided at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) to improve their performance in science.
“This positive trend further demonstrates our students’ increased ability to think critically and effectively solve problems by the end of their compulsory education,” she said.
According to the report, performance trends in the key areas over a six-year period have improved with a “marginal positive growth trend” across all indicators by one percentage point. Average attainment achieved in English continues to be significantly higher than the attainment achieved in mathematics.
See the full report in the CNS Library.
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And that is why we need expats to do the high paid jobs. Not enough Caymanians are qualified. Blame the government not the expats.
What is the Parliamentary Secretary for Education doing? Is she not supposed to be the refreshing change and bring ideas to change the education system? Where is her voice on an issue like this? She was present during the photo to deliver masks. Where is she now? I wasted a vote. Do these politician wannabes lose their way when power and privilege is given to them. Do they forget all the principles they stood for before the elections and all the glorious ideas they intended to implement? Guess they are busy feathering their nests 85% and give the people a mere 15%. Just SMH
Sounds like Betsy DeVos. Maybe she sells Amway as her first love.
I’m not sure what Level 2 exams are, but in the U.K. grades for A level exams are a joke. Year after year they have been inflated, then with Covid they have been awarded on teacher assessments of course work without an exam. Then there’s the appeal system where a pupil can disagree with his grade and have it reassessed!. When I took my A levels in the sixties the pass rate was far lower because of strict standards which have now gone out the window.
CNS: There’s a link at the end of the first paragraph to explain what Level 2 is. In short, it’s O’ Level Grade C or higher.
Thank you for saying this because ppl on here bashing the current examination without knowledge of others.
Ok so now we know we are only talking about O levels, and 40% of students cannot even manage 5 O levels at C, can we proceed to bash? Because that’s pretty abysmal.
Until they start teaching proper sex Ed in public schools and stop with the religious stuff nothing’s going to change. Not to mention the teachers here can’t even speak proper English. So how do they expect the children to learn?
Dwl when last have you visited a school to know that teachers cannot speak proper English?
This is ridiculous! Why are public schools in this country functioning like public schools in low income, poverty stricken areas of the US? Why are our Cayan public schools functioning like they’re in American urban ghettos? Cayman public schools receive better funding per student than Cayman private schools do!! What is happening with our tax dollars?? Why are our Caymanian children failing to meet the basic standards, when so much of our tax dollars are going to the public school system?? Caymanian parents, we need to demand to hold people accountable for this mess! Cayman public schools have the money! We have the resources! Why then are children FAILING??
Caymanian parents need to prioritize their child’s education. Set aside the necessary hours needed to help your child with homework. Show interest! Take an active role! Stop expecting the school to raise your child. That is NOT what the schools are for! To fix this mess will require Caymanian parents to take the lead. Enquire! Get involved in the school. Ask questions. Demand answers! Hold people accountable and this is fixable. Maintain the status quo and our public schools will forever turn out people that cannot compete in their own country!!
Our public schools receive 60% more funding per pupil than it costs to send private! 60%! Those kids are ALL leaving with Maths, English and a half a dozen other passes. It’s insane.
Too bad none of the parents you’re talking to have enough interest in (or ability to read) this article
Until the social problems are solved the education system in Cayman will never work. Teachers are more like referees in the classrooms, trying to control behavioural issues with little to no support from the parents. This takes time away from the children who are actually there to learn. In the primary level, this is a direct reflection of their upbringing and be secondary it’s become their way of life. The challenges teachers face here are ridiculous. I have worked in both primary and secondary public education here in Cayman and I jumped to private schooling as soon as I could because the pittance salary is not worth the hardship of trying to advance the pupils in the public schools.
Added to the fact that if you DARE to discipline a child, a parent comes to the school to attack you .
While the first jump is this is Caymans problem we can’t blame expats. Do a poll what is the majority of natural born Caymanian teachers in the system? The numbers would shock most of you. So what if theses expat teachers want to work and get their money and go home the caymanian children are not their future. Cayman does not put and effort into supporting their local teachers. As someone who once was a member of this group. Who had to watch locals beg and fight for this roll while others from every part of the globe where given it so easily sometimes without even a background check. Local teachers want better for their students as this is a place we call home. I agree as a past educator in the primary schools, some students do come in behind from a pre-school level and unfortunately even with intervention they never catch up. Cayman does not want failing students to repeat giving them an additional year to catch up and achieve their best.
So many other things need to be looked at, such as the ever changing learning programs that do not correlate so essentially the do not provide what our students need to sit these exams. It’s very easy to sit and point finger at educators who do not have a say. They do not pick the learning tools, they don’t pick the material to teach. I do agree that millions has been spent but not ever person who tries to sell you their education program should we jump up to purchase. Find what works and stick to it. All you have to do is look from early years at what is expected of a 2-3 year old in the UK before they even reach reception/ year 1 you would be shocked to know by the time children reach reception they are already 2 plus years behind some of there peers.
This is not a shock and while most of us locals cannot afford private education. As parents we just have to do what is best for our kids. The standard will only decrease in the cayman education system.
Oh dear God. I struggled through your poor spelling, terrible grammar, and abysmal punctuation, and then I got to this… “as a past educator in the primary schools” If you are an example of the teachers these children are being subjected to, it’s no wonder their results are so shocking. It seems you need to go back to school yourself because your writing is shameful.
It’s extremely easy to jump all over this without better context. I’d like to see how this compares to the other ‘private’ schools first.
8:13 You work for the world class CIG, right?
I might, I might not 8:13 – it just seems a little premature to be jumping all over this without having another metric to put it into context with. They may be abysmal, they may not, could they be better, yeah sure but wouldn’t it be better to have data to work against before
– apologies, stopped myself short which may have been welcomed by many,
* before castigating educators, pupils, and almost an entire education system ? Obviously a fair few think not.
Are you for real? Context? 60% of Cayman’s kids are leaving school functionally illiterate and innumerate!
The detractors here are bashing the education system as the sole blame for dip in student performance. I am no fan of the Panton-PACTless Clown Car government but they have enough screw-ups to their credit without needing to add one that probably does not apply. It would do people well to sit back and think through the several causal probabilities before taking fingers to keypad and bashing the system and laying the entire blame on our educators and leaders. The probable primary reason for the dip should be obvious and I accept the possibility offered in the article: “…that last year was an outlier in terms of results due to changes in the exam process because of the COVID lockdown”. If you do a bit of research you will find that this experience is by no means unique to the Cayman Islands and has occurred across the globe. Here is just a very small sample out of a huge number of similar headlines, all focused on the same issue: –Student test scores dropped during pandemic –The pandemic’s toll: National test scores show progress slowed, gaps widened –Many predicted some kind of ‘Covid slide’ in learning. Test results show how bad it is –Tennessee’s decline in pandemic TCAP scores shows a dramatic reversal of previous gains –Student Test Scores Drop in Math Since Covid-19 Pandemic –Guilford County Schools sees drop in student test scores, participation during COVID-19 –Learning loss during Covid-19: An early systematic review Here is the takeaway: The decline in student performance is yet another one of the high social costs of the Covid pandemic. The bashers also seem to have missed that “…the 2020-2021 academic year results show that overall student achievements at the end of Years 11 and 12 had passed expectations.” It seems that many here take the girlie magazine approach to reading the news: Much like salivating men just looking at the pictures rather than reading the articles, comment porn consumers here just read the headlines and then spout off in the comment section.
It’s true, there has obviously been a Covid effect.
Before Covid, only half of our children were leaving school unable to read, write or add up.
So that’s ok then.
So how is it that people like Bernie Bush still go around with his entitlist attitude on behalf of all Caymanians? Wake up please. SMH. Seriously, don’t criticise colleges or employers for seeking out only the best prospects.
Wow, that’s bad. Well at least they know evolution is a lie and there is a guy in sky. Sad these kids are being willingly set up to become ignorant christian fundamentalists.
These are Madrassas, not schools. Just watch. The Mullahs issue fatwas.
Cayman is one of the very few countries with an annual budget surplus. There is no reason why Cayman is education isn’t first class. REALITY CHECK this poor education and continual single parent Caymanian mothers getting knocked up raising 3-4 kids is the CORE REASON for the POVERTY. No one to blame but yourselves not expats for this PERIOD
Who do you think is “knocking them up?”
Almost 100% the guys getting them pregnant are from the Caribbean. It’s not far odd to say it’s Caribbean culture to knock up girls and have no involvement with their childrens’ upbringing financially or being there for guidance. I believe they emulate seeing roosters knocking up chickens and apply that to their life and likely their father wasn’t there for them either thus propitiating the cycle of poverty. LET’S SEE IF ANY POLITICIAN HAS THE BALLS TO VOiCE ROOT CAUSE Of THE PROBLEM
Address the fact that it’s common to hear boys and men talking about ‘breeding’ girls
Not the men I associate with. I suspect you need to modify your social contacts to a better class.
So what!!! A woman has a choice….use a condom or no sex!!! Birth control in all forms are available!!! Point is if you’re having sex and you’re not ready for a child take precautions!! A man does not care, he just wants to come…and that’s all men from all nationalities. So stop making it sound like Caribbean men are out there “forcing” caymanian women to have their babies. And honestly, some of these women are sooooooo stupid. Having kids to try and “keep” the men.
As a man, I could not disagree more. I’m married 36 years, never strayed, and never reflected your absurd statement… : “A man does not care, he just wants to come…and that’s all men from all nationalities.” You clearly are mixing with the wrong type of men – and that is YOUR FAULT!
Congrats on being the exception. Or rather, congrats on being born in a period when men were respectful and sought meaningful relationships. In this generation, it’s instant gratification and unlimited choices thanks to social media. If you don’t understand you’re too old and out of touch. So I say again….women have choices….use a condom or get birth control. Running around spouting nonsense about the men knocking up these women is irrelevant because it takes two and the modern woman needs to realize that the MODERN man (not the ones of your era) wants to COME!! On that note you are clearly too old to be commenting a modern issue you seem to have no idea about.
The unfortunate truth that no one wants to acknowledge or treat as the root cause. Teach better sex education and actually present a better future to strive for than what they currently experience
Why on earth does Cayman use a different testing system than the UK? It looks like it is only an attempt to avoid unwanted comparisons.
I have never understood why we don’t just use the United Kingdom testing system.
We used to. It worked perfectly for us. But then of course the teachers couldn’t come from Trinidad teachers college.
I wonder why that happened.
I am sorry Cayman, but your contract will not be renewed.
This does not bode well for the future.
I’ve said it over, and over, and over… If Cayman wants to be respected on the world stage, they better be world educated!
Cayman has FAILED it’s youth and can cry as many tears as it wants, but reality is – the education of it citizens is POOR.
Cayman education is third world. Plain and simple.
The poorly educated don’t ask as many questions. Let’s start with WB voters and their continuing support for a homophobic, woman beating convicted criminal.
Where is the accountability? Stop justifying failure. We have spent 100s of millions arms and legs on education over the decades and this is what we have to show? This is a colossal failure of monumental proportions. The Minister, Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer are all former educators and principals. Is this the extent of their competence? Failure? Are they only about photo ops, scripted nonsense and big inefficient structures? Where is the substance?
KMA I can’t believe what I read. Caymanians rise up and protest this farce of an education system. We cannot go like this there must be a comprehensive look at the failings with the intent of creating a strategy for improvement I mean improvement within the next 24 months tops. As has been said if removal of those who have led us to this failure point is deemed necessary then this must happen. If we need to have more make figures in the school to curb this delinquent behavior we constantly read about then it must be done. If covenants snd/or laws need to be put in place that make oarents accountable for ensuring their children do their home work then so be it, if after school teaching for oarents and children is necessary let’s get it going. If we need to bring back the strap in the school because oarents fail to educate their children as to proper behavior in school and thus helps in the acting up behavior exhibited let’s bring it back.
Folks we have to do what we have to do to ensure a future generation of not just literate persons but if persons who are highly proficient in English, Maths snd Sciences snd can compete with anyone coming here with their piece of paper. Nothing less is required PACT. All of you MPS out there on whatever side of the Parliamentv you sit this is your mandate not just that of the Education Minisyer you are all responsible do your freaking job now and do it well. If you need help go get it pay for it, it will be worth it in the end. Selah,
What? These MPs don’t give a rats a$$, they’ll be out of there in 2 years time with their big pay packets It’s a hot potato – same as the dump – passed from one administration to the next. And Caymanians aren’t out protesting en masse because the educated ones are too busy working and the uneducated are too busy blaming expats
When people are given jobs based on their race rather then their skills, knowledge and ability how could it possibly change? It’s really that simple. You can’t hold some one accountable because if they leave you can’t replace them. If you do get a permit and the person wants to make change one letter to immigration and they have to defend them selves so, they give up and leave. There can never be accountability if you have no one to hold people accountable. Manager after manager trys to make a change then they get the boot. What Will happen is the 2nd gen caymanians will come to power and their parents will tell them how they were treated and camanians will be marginalized out of the system over night. It’s gonna be grimand it’s very sort sighted
And then people wonder why businesses have to get work permits for staff
If Juliana had an ounce of self-awareness or shame, this report would have been the trigger for her immediate resignation.
But she is getting paid a ‘King’s ransom’ for her wealth of knowledge, incisive intellect and unbounded expertise… Yea, I hope her electorate is pleased with their choice, as the remainder of Cayman cries with her actions.
@6:19: You spout off without a freaking clue as to why Julie was the very wise choice. I am very very verryyy, pleased and quite thankful at the choice that Cayman Brac East voters made in the last election. The list of candidates for Cayman Brac East read thusly: Elvis McKeever Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. Who would you have voted for, brightbox? And…in case you missed the way government roun yah wuks: It was politicians from Grand Cayman who put her into that ministry. The remainder of Cayman cries with THEIR actions. Your beef is with THEM, BoBo, not Brackers. You have now been schooled. Say thank you and move on.
Elvis is crazy too…and if elected hopefully would not have been the education Minister. No reason she needs to be the education Minister now is there?
Elvis at least lives in the real world.
If you wish to ‘school’ me…
Learn how to spell. Learn correct grammar. Learn proper words vs colloquialism. Learn how to discuss and debate without insults.
You are a good example of the lack of real professionalism that many (certainly not all or maybe not even a majority) of Cayman educated students exemplify. Thank you for proving my point – an eneducated individual is happy with this Minister. The real solution is to have better candidates, and sadly, it appears there was none – so you elected the best of the worst.
I’m guessing she and her clan believe that this, like hurricanes, can just be prayed away.
Can’t miss an opportunity to bash religion right 6:36? Shove off.
So you agree that prayer is the best way to prepare for a hurricane. WOW – Read the article above, you are a product of it!
Unna don’t miss a chance to tell me I deserve to be tortured forever because I chose science over fairy tales, but hey
Julianna is destroying our education system! Why does the Brac keep voting her in??
Because they aren’t educated.
Illegally excluding foreign children from free primary and secondary education leads to this sort of rock bottom system. The more driven middle class parents involved in a school the better the results.
That would make some difference but it won’t solve everything. The education system needs stability. Every year the focus/direction changes, that needs to stop. Government also needs to invest in some alternative education like vocational/skill learning. Then to top it off….a separate facility needs to be built for students who cannot be controlled by the school or their parents. Ain’t no way students should feel empowered to stand up against persons in authority and physically assault them multiple times (if you know, you know). They disrupt learning for students over and over.
Ah, ‘a facility needs to be built for students who cannot be controlled by the schools or parents?’
And we wonder why Cayman is such a mess! Raise your children! If they do not comply, the facility you need to build is a bigger prision! Grow up!
No middle class child is going to be sent to a school providing Trinidadian and Jamaican qualifications, when British and American options are available elsewhere. Just sayin. Change the curriculum! The British system worked well. There was no good reason to get rid of it.
Not sure why you used thoss island nations as examples because the British and American options are also available and offered there……
Becaus we have imported cxc’s from those island nations. It isn’t working out well for us, is it?
There is no way any expat would send their kids into this farcical ediucational mess if they can help it. I for one am glad we have no choice – it makes us work harder to make sure we can afford to pay the school fees so our kids have a better future
You have an education minister who is happy to import the third world as teachers what do you expect?
This “third world teacher” is available Saturday and Sunday to teach your child, available every holiday and after school providing prep classes, available every reporting session until the last parent is seen…accommodating all parents even the ones that come 8pm knowing that reporting session ends at 7pm. This “third world teacher” doesn’t rush home on Fridays to catch after hour drinks, complains about class numbers and work, and stops working promptly at 2:50 everyday like some 1st world teachers. Next time if you have ntn better to say, don’t say anything.
Errr if you’re working 7 days a week, including holidays and evenings, you’re doing it wrong.
Apparently you know ntn about education and the importance of providing timely feedback and support when trying to close learning gaps. Teaching isn’t a profession you can put down at 2:50pm and pick up at 8am, that’s a fact. It isn’t a corporate job. Some of my students study late into the nights and they know that if they are stuck they can reach out to me for answers. If you don’t understand, that’s ok. I know I’m doing it right because my parents are supportive, my kids are flourishing and they ALWAYS exceed their targets.
Old Caymanian saying: “When you through a rock in the pig pen the one that squeals is most likely the one that got hit”
You are however untypical of what we have imported. You need to be rewarded and exulted. Others however need to be removed from the system. Immediately.
Obviously according to the report all of your long hours are not having much effect.
You know that the report is the sum of everyone’s effort and not a single individual’s effort…right? You nah sounding too smart so I had to check.
World Class! Gotta love celebrating complete and utter failures. There is reason none of the politicans or wealthy Caymanians send their children to public school. So many millions wasted on vanity projects (Clifton Hunter, John Gray re-model) for politicians that could have been spent actually investing in our children. With the amount of dollars per student spent on education, there should be a 90%+ success rate. This is horrific and goes to show why Caymanians aren’t rising to top of all the law firms, accounting firms, etc. We have done this to ourselves by continuing to elect those with zero qualifications to lead. Banana Republic.
Nowhere in the Bible was Jesus subjected to this moronic bullshit. Our kids are being set up to fail.
I have no idea what your first sentence is intended to say.
I agree with your second sentence though.
And this surprises who? Anyone?
Meanwhile those 60 % and perhaps a few more will be “dumped” into the employment market and won’t be able to get or hold a decent job.
The CI Government education “system” is a failure and has been for years! Big, award-winning school buildings with every single tool available DO NOT produce well educated children. A curriculum suited for today’s world and Cayman’s needs, well-sourced and compensated teachers and LESS political interference in the Department of Education are great starting points to correct this decades-old BS!
Julianna is a waste of space!
But why does she get re-elected?????????
@6:29: The last election Cayman Brac East had two candidates: Elvis McKeever Juliana Connolly-O’Connor Nuff said.
A waste of space and at an oversized expense! I anyone wants to test how well their child is doing in government schools, just seek to enroll them in Cayman Prep and High, have them do the placement test and see the result. My friend’s child was getting A’s and B’s in the government schools but had to be held back a grade to catch up at Cayman Prep where the child is now doing extremely well. So, clearly, when a child is placed in an environment that works towards excellence, recruits quality teachers and puts in place a well developed curriculum and structure that child will succeed. Juliana and the don’t care imported teachers, whose only qualification is the right nationality, all need to step aside.
Why oh why can we just not duplicate the Cayman Prep model?
It works and the CIG have the money for education and good teachers.
There is no excuse after all these years. JuJu should be ashamed of herself as should the people who elected her.
Talk about a non performer.
There is a simple solution to this:
1. Start Primary School one year later. Give the children one more year for their brains to develop and allow them to mature.
2. Use the additional year and make it mandatory for all pre-school to have a heavy focus on phonics, reading and math for the last year.
3. Make year 12 mandatory. Why are we in a rush to push these children out of school? to do what?
4. Simplify the report cards. One needs a degree in decoding to process what they are sending home. Most parents do not understand what is being reported and think a passing mark of 50 is acceptable.
5. Separate the high achieving kids from the rest. The kids who cant keep up are disruptive to the high achievers and hold back their potential.
6. Have a process for those kids who work to be high achievers to be able to (move up) to the high achieving school.
7. The other kids should have a different curriculum which is more focused on a trade. Focus on this for year 11 and 12 and at least they can graduate with a certification in a trade which is decent paying.
The problem with education in Cayman is not the teachers, the problem is that there is piss poor management up to and including the education minister. No one is accountable and and no one has an original idea or vision to pursue.
I find it of great interest that some people associated with our school system are trying to spread the use of cannibis in the Caymans. Are people so stupid that they think cannibis improves the ability to learn? No part of any government should want anything that causes confusion or lack of understanding in ANY part of our life!
show me some scientific proof of this correlation – one has nothing to do with the other – plenty of smart potheads out there – i dont know of any other country or state who legalized cannabis that has seen a direct impact on the education system – ridiculous comment
1) it’s the Cayman Islands, not the Caymans. Who are you to speak on our behalf?
2) before speaking about an education system, check your spelling. Cannabis. I consumed it throughout university and have a Master’s – stop generalising.
6:41 you must be a poster child for superior mental health.
Juliana and Cetonya and the Education Council are doing their best to compete with OffReg as the most pathetic and useless agency. Hey geniuses, you need to decentralize and let schools, administrators and teachers do what they do best instead of micromanaging like the old Soviet Union did with their 5 year plans.
This is a pathetic propaganda piece that is such a poor attempt to spin your failure. I placed the following quotes from Juliana and Cetonya that can look at what these data show and act like it is all good. Nothing to see here. Let me keep my ministry and my cronies.
Despite the numerous challenges that have occurred over the past few years, students’ performance has continued to improve with the support of their parents and our hardworking team of educators,” said Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly.
The increase in science passes was welcomed by Chief Officer Cetonya Cacho, who said it was evidence that more students are taking advantage of the opportunities provided at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) to improve their performance in science.
Great comment. But unfortunately the ministry will never decentralize and allow schools and teachers to do what is best.
This is why companies operating here NEED to hire from elsewhere. There are definitely kids that make the grade but they get snapped up quickly by the big firms. Smaller firms are left with very little to choose from by way of qualified/capable Caymanian applicants and often have to pay well above market.
Considering the wealth of these islands there is no excuse for having anything but world-class education system.
(Some) Parents and government are dropping the ball.
criminal consideing the amout spent on eduction by cig….. welcome to wonderland.
You use the phrase “criminal” in jest. This may be indicative of maladministration. That really is a crime. A very serious one at that. Of course, if we actually enforced laws or did accountability around here. Instead we just give pay rises.
Maybe an open plan classrooms will surely help! <- the most stupidest thing ever decided.
As always education is the way and if it’s not done right our islands will continue to suffer. Stupid people can’t run an economy.
dismal from everyone involved, cig, teachers and local parents. but somehow private sector should be forced to hire locals????
It may not look like it but there are a ton of people trying to help improve things! The problem starts within the first five years of a child’s life and many parents see preschools as day care centres and babysitting services and not as something absolutely vital for stimulating the early brain while it is growing (the first five years is when it does its massive growth). Those five years should be spent inspiring our children to love discovering things, exploring, learning in a joy-filled environment where they are loved and nurtured and surrounded with laughter and joy. You do that and you will have a 100% turn around with your children when they get to primary and high school. It also means parents need to impart to their children the value of a good education. They won’t value it if you don’t! Why can some people not see that education is the ladder that pulls people out of poverty?
Ha ha ha. Caymanian Educator blames the preschools for high schoolers failure. You can’t make this up.
How ignorant you sound. Learning gaps are created when the foundation years are not properly nurtured. These gaps hinder impactful growth at the high school stage. Hence why kids are not making expected growth because we have high schoolers who are just learning to read and write sentences in years 7-11 when they should have learnt that from the foundation years. That’s the point the original poster is making. My God….if you, who I assume to be an adult, could not understand that then the future is very dark for these kids.
If you are truly noting that many Cayman students are only beginning to read and write in grades 7-11 then that explains A LOT to me about the sad state of Elections, politics, self-governance, ethics and morality of our Ministers, incompetence in solving the traffic mess, the dump mess, the tourist blend between overnight and day stays… I’ll stop there.
A significant portion of students entering high school cannot read and write at the grade 7 level they are entering into. Some are reading/writing at a 1 year old level, some at grade 2 level and so on. What this means is that while in high school (which should be where students progress to advanced topics) greater focus is placed on teaching foundation writing skills and less time on teaching the content area. Students in high school are still starting their name with a common letter….it is really bad.
That is profoundly sad and it explains a lot of why many Caymanian youth turn to crime as they have few prospects for employment. Cayman, you have betrayed your children!
19 @ 1:38 pm – You are a MORON! You make fun of “Caymanian Educator’s” assertion about the early years of a child’s development and YOU have no clue! ANY trained teacher knows that the first 5-7 years are the most crucial in any child’s development for ANY input. It’s called the “formative years”. I’m not an educator but I was birthed and raised by one, who lived by that premise.
In fact, that same educator predicted to me that Cayman would be over-run with and run by morons in this generation.
You’re testament to her prediction!! Wonder what happened during your formative years?
9:36 – you must be one of the geniuses that is in a position of influence like perhaps on the education council? I’m the moron? You are a joke as the original poster said the first 5 years and then you change the time period to 5-7 years with your incredible comprehension. 5-7 year olds are in primary school fool not daycare so your drivel proved nothing. You are a testament to idiocy and should do us all a favor and resign your position on the Education Council and please please please stay off the message boards.
This topic is spawning morons, who cant read and understand. Exactly the disappointing point to this article – Cayman’s public schools are failures! Case in point, 20 @ 10:20 am.
I said the Caymanian Educator was correct and expanded that the crucial ages are the “first 5 to 7 years”. That means, in English, from birth to ages 5-7 years old, or up until age 7. Not only between the two years of 5 and 7 years old as you somehow seemed to have interpreted! So much for your own “incredible comprehension”.
Can’t read and understand? What happened in YOUR formative years? Yes, you’re the moron.
Right on, Cayman Educator! Our schools must have many people teaching that are non-productive. Why can’t this be remedied?
Because we elect uneducated, unqualified, unethical, inmoral Ministers who direct their minions to do their bidding. The electorate is to blame for the root cause.
Look at that photograph. Well done Cayman. You have done a spectacular job at segregating society along economic and racial lines. You freaking idiots! Especially since you have done it at greater cost per student than any of the alternatives. Just shut it all down and fire everyone. Bring back North American and British education systems, and the teachers that can teach them. Then our children may stand a chance in the sophisticated service industries that dominate our economy.
However you try and dress it up that is really, really poor.
I don’t get it. The wealthiest island in the Caribbean yet we lag way behind when it comes to sports and education. We can afford the best so why aren’t we getting the best? JuJu needs to go.
Well, we import the teachers, the curriculum, and many of the students (or their baby daddies) from the poorest islands in the Caribbean, so what would you expect?
You mean you import teachers from the Caribbean islands whose education is superior to Cayman fancy pants education and Cayman still can’t get it right!!!???? OMG!!! THE IRONY!!!
Ummm, St Ignatius and Cayman Prep still provide the original Cayman education syllabus (from the UK) and it is quite obviously far superior to your more recently imported version of education. The IB option at CIS is very good as well.
Did you know that there are qualified IB and BTECH teachers in the government schools? The government dictates the curriculum every year. Every year they add something new and ‘shiny’, “it’s backed by evidence” they would say. It’s tiring and frustrating. Most children struggle with the CSEC curriculum. We’ve asked for changes to the curriculum, we’ve asked for alternatives….we’ve begged. Nothing is done, nothing to help us. Just a new evidence based practice that we must implement immediately is given. Could you work under such a rule? Could you carry the water they gave you the basket to do so in?
That is an oversimplification. There are some exceptional teachers from these poor islands and painting everyone with a broad brush is lazy and does them a disservice. The problem is multi-facted. Parents are a big factor so is the leadership in the ministry of Education.
Juju should have been gone years ago!
Money does not buy truth.
Graph looks like its going down to me?
Because the Minister wants to pretend last years results – in the middle of all the disruption from Covid when you could expect kids to be under greater difficulties and this years results an artificially higher increase on last year – should be ignored, not because its an unfair comparison, but because it makes this years results look even worse. And that’s just the trend – the absolute standard is shocking irrespective of whether its going up or down.
Disgusting. An absolute failure. Honours with 7 passes? I wish them well, but 7 CXC passes is no basis for celebration. Much of their competition has 9 or 10 GCSE’s at grades A and B, and without an extra year to do it in. These kids do not stand a chance. The standards are MUCH too low.
Odd that a 25% year-over-year decline in graduate performance is mentally booked as a winning “continued to improve” for the Education Minister. Maybe she could audit a primary school math class and learn how to read charts.
Steady improvement. We must consider that the private schools does not accept some students that are struggling.
private schools encourage the parents to get private tutoring for those students… a feature that is lacking with government school students.
Maybe it is time for Juju and some of the administrators to go. We spend a tonne on education but the results are terrible.
The minister has been in charge for donkey’s years now and it will take a change to reach and acceptable level. Time for Wayne to make a Cabinet shuffle.
Rather than spend tens of millions on buildings, a fraction of that money could be spent on first world teachers. Insisting on teachers from the Caribbean, will always result in the same outcome. Parents also must take some of the blame for not encouraging their children to strive for higher standards. Mediocre teachers and uncaring parents is a lose lose. Can’t necessarily do anything about the indolent parents, but better educated teachers will at least help reduce the 69% fail rate.
Your suggestion that “first world teachers” is the answer, will not stand up to scrutiny. Let the historical record shows that their teachers struggle to give black students a first rate education due to biased teachers and a racist curriculum. Look it up yourself and do your own unbiased research if you can.
5.54 First world teachers can bring a broader perspective and enlightened scope of learning which Caribbean teachers may lack due to the confines of small Island life. Don’t forget, children leaving school in Cayman, will have to compete against first world people in the job market.
Perhaps that’s the difference between schooling, and Education.
I have been in education for 30 plus years. The problem is that teachers will do anything to see their students pass. Though the Student Based Assessment has it’s merits, the teachers do all the work on these, counting for as much as60% of the grade. When teachers don’t do all the work, it’s one student on a team of lazy classmates. Dreadful.
This is like putting perfume on a pig.
There is nothing to celebrate when only 40.3% of Year 11 students achieved the national standard target of five or more Level 2 subjects (it would be good to see the actual grades).
The Cayman Islands spends a significant amount of money on education and we need an honest assessment to determine if the country is getting value for the money that is being spent.
So, to put it another way, 60% of our students are leaving school unable to read, write or add up.
Why does no-one care about this? Why are there not daily mass protests demanding the sacking of the entire education leadership, from Juliana down?
Because the electorate doesn’t know better. They are all told their kids are getting a great education. They are being misled by their own government.
Juliana should never have been put in that position. NEVER!!!
Because Caymanians only do that to prevent gay marriage! Focus on what’s important
JTB, where does it say in the article that “60% of our students are leaving school unable to read, write or add up”???? Clearly, reading isn’t in your skillset.
I analysed the data. You should try it.
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