Nearly 90% of PEP students placed in preferred schools

Almost 90 per cent of students who sat the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations for the 2024–2025 academic year were placed in one of their preferred schools.

The Ministry of Education and Youth today reported that 89.5 per cent of the 33,462 students registered across 964 institutions were placed in one of their seven school choices.

“That may mean that our parents and our schools are helping the parents to choose better, and choose more wisely,” said Minister of Education, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon.

From the overall tally, 23 per cent of students received highly proficient scores—the highest category awarded—in Social Studies and Science.

Only two per cent of students received highly proficient scores in Language Arts, while seven per cent were highly proficient in Mathematics.

However, the numbers were significantly higher in the second tier of performance—proficient.

In Mathematics, 56 per cent of students achieved proficiency, while 67 per cent were proficient in Language Arts.

In Science, 61 per cent of students were proficient, while 58 per cent achieved proficiency in Social Studies.

The national minimum proficiency target is 85 per cent by 2030.

While applauding the students’ performance, Morris Dixon noted that this cohort faced disadvantages due to disruptions in teaching and learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These are a special group, and so when you look at the results, you’re even happier, because you know what these children have been through. We know the psycho-social challenges they have had to endure, and they’ve still risen to the occasion,” she said.

PEP is designed to measure students’ attainment of the objectives outlined in the National Standards Curriculum over a three-year period.

Meanwhile, 563 students were granted special accommodations to sit the exam.

These included extra time, readers or writers, and interpreters—including 10 for Spanish and Mandarin.

A total of 292 students were absent from the examinations, representing a 25 per cent decline compared to last year.

The main reasons for absenteeism were migration and grade repetition.

The top 10 performers in the PEP exams will be attending Ardenne High School, DeCarteret College, Immaculate Conception High, Herbert Morrison Technical High School, Campion College, and St Andrew High School for Girls in September.

- Sashana Small

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