Thwaites to provide update on GSAT results today
Published:Tuesday | June 18, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Jermaine Francis, Staff Reporter
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites is expected to update the nation today on the outcome of the 2013 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).
Thwaites told The Gleaner that today's press briefing would shed light on the much-anticipated exam results, but did not indicate if the results would be released to schools at the same time.
Last week, Thwaites said the more than 43,000 students who sat the exams in March could expect their results this week. At the time, he did not reveal which day of this week the eager students would have received their results.
Thwaites also said everything was in order and he was not expecting any glitches that would delay the announcement of the results.
During the March exams, some 25 schools in Region Three reported that 24 questions were missing from their mathematics exam paper.
missing questions protest
The missing questions sparked a protest by parents of affected students in St Ann, who said they were not pleased with the manner in which the ministry was handling the discrepancies.
However, Thwaites said a statistical formula along with the students' prior work would be used to grade the affected students.
Several persons are waiting to hear if this year's result would continue the trend of improved performance in the primary schools' exit exam.
Last year the minister reported that there was an improvement in the national average of the exam he referred to as the "apartheid of the education system".