Chief Education Officer Lou-Anne Gilchrist says that the soon to be introduced Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment is nothing to be afraid of.{{more}}

Gilchrist made the statement yesterday at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown, at the opening of a three-day consultation between local educators and members of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the agency responsible for the implementation of the CPEA.

Gilchrist said that the assessment, which replaces the Common Entrance Examination, offers a more structured approach to instruction and assessment, and allows students multiple opportunities to improve and showcase their learning and performance of various tasks.

“It is no different from what teachers should have been doing in their classrooms. It will not bring about a change in curriculum, agenda or syllabi. The content, which the teachers will be presenting to the students, will remain the same as it is now.

“What will be different will be the way the assessments are structured, the frequency with which the students will be assessed and the rigorousness which the accurate records are kept,” Gilchrist noted.

At yesterday’s opening session, Cherryl Stephens and Benita Byer met with education officers, lecturers at the teachers college and principals.

The sessions continue today with sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Methodist Church Hall, followed by two simultaneous sessions with Grades Five and Six teachers as well as parents and students at the Peace Memorial Hall and Frenches House, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Current Grade Five students will begin using the assessment model, and would be the first to participate in the examinations in 2014.

Gilchrist said that the CPEA is a formal structure that teachers all over should have been using in the classrooms, which would allow creativity among students and teachers alike.

“I know that some fears have been expressed with regards to objectivity, when it comes to the internally assessed component of the CPEA, but there are mechanisms that are built in to the processes which will ensure objectivity and impartiality.

“An important feature as well of the CPEA is that, like the SBAs of CSEC and the internal assessments for CAPE and the CCSLC, students will be given multiple opportunity to improve their performance”. (JJ)