Planning for success—the Matelot Community School

By Lara Pickford-Gordon
snrwriter.camsel@catholictt.org

The Matelot Community College is using different strategies to turn around exam results and this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exam is testament to these efforts.

A total of 17 students were registered, three were repeaters and three in Form Four were enrolled in the Mathematics exam.

This year, the school recorded “the highest number of Grade Ones scored by any class over the past 15 years.” This is regarded as a significant achievement for this small rural school.

One student earned four Grade Ones. English has been a strong subject for the school with 100 per cent passes in the past three years. There were five Grade Ones in English A, the subject scoring the highest number of Grade Ones. Agricultural Science had 100 per cent passes with three Grade Ones and two Grade Twos.

The Catholic News learned that Mathematics had no passes in the past two years. “Students find themselves having to go back to repeat this exam,” The Catholic News was informed.

Four of the 11 (36 per cent) Form Five first-time entries passed CSEC Mathematics, contributing to a Mathematics pass rate of 29 per cent. Success in Mathematics contributed to four students earning a full CSEC certificate, which is five subjects including English. Two students got seven subjects—the father of one was murdered during the exam year. Two others got six. Eight of the 11 first-time candidates earned five or more subjects.

The school  also registered Form Four students to give them a taste of doing the exam. It is a new approach as students, “historically have taken the examinations very lightly,” a school official said.

Three Form Four students were registered to sit Math this year. One passed, earning a Grade Three and the others, Grade Four. They will be given the opportunity to repeat this exam in Form Five. The Form Four class, which comprises ten students, was dealt a blow in January when one of their classmates was murdered. “That class was severely disrupted emotionally and while they had the potential, we didn’t push for the rest of the class to do the exam this year.”

The hope is that by being exposed to the Math exam in Form Four, the students can be motivated to work harder. “If they test with a Four and they continue to work in the school, they will pass with at least a Three,” the school official said. Contributing to the turnaround in Math was partnering with St Francis Boys’ College, Belmont. The Math teacher from Matelot did a workshop with their counterpart at St Francis “to learn how they were able to turn their past underachievement in Math into their current success”.

The Matelot school “got some very good tips that were actually important for the results we got this year, in terms of helping to fine tune what we did for the exam”.

Overall, the students excelled in six subjects:  Agricultural Science, Food and Nutrition, Human and Social Biology, Physical Education (PE) and Sport, Principles of Accounts and Textiles, Clothing and Fashion.

“We are scrutinising the ability of the students a lot more before signing them up to CSEC so we ensure better success as well,” said the school official.

The school receives many remedial students who struggle with the full course load. In response, a lighter course load is recommended. “We give them certain subjects we know they will be successful in.”  These subjects—PE, Agricultural Science, Visual and Performing Arts—with practical components, have produced good results.

“About two years ago, we had a class that was struggling, and we put them in a group together…and we gave them subjects like that…practical type subjects…that class was a real gem and taught us a lot.”

The school’s focus is “giving more students a chance for success.” The remedial students do the Lower Secondary Proficiency Examination, formerly the Primary School Leaving Certificate. Getting SBAs (School-Based Assessments) is “like pulling teeth.”  “Down to the last, the teachers are fighting up to get SBAs in from the children. When we are supposed to be looking to do mock exams, we still trying to get SBAs; we’ve not had a culture of doing mock exams,” the school official said.

They continued, “Even when they do the mock exam, they don’t do well…and when they did tests, they did not test well.”  Students who do not submit SBAs and miss the exam automatically fail.

For this new academic year in September, the school will seek to integrate numeracy and literacy across the curriculum to boost the weaker students. “All the subjects have the ability to make an impact in literacy, in teaching in their subjects,” the school official said.

The Matelot Community RC Primary School also celebrated the success of this year’s cohort who sat the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA). Ten students wrote the exam, six selected the senior school, Matelot Community College as their first choice.

For the remaining students, one passed for Guaico Government Secondary School, another for North Eastern College and two for Toco Secondary. The Catholic News was informed: “Sometimes, depending on whatever the family goals are, they may choose Toco instead of Matelot. There is a lot of competition to go Toco Secondary from the outside communities versus persons wanting to come into Matelot, so for them to be able to make the score to compete with the other students that chose Toco Secondary, it is a significant achievement for us as well”.