BVI’s low pass rate in math due to poor foundational teaching
Education Minister Sharie deCastro has indicated that the territory’s low pass rate in Mathematics at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) level stems from poor foundational teaching at the primary school level.
DeCastro addressed the territory’s math problem during a recent sitting of the House of Assembly.
“Over the past year, the Ministry of Education undertook an extensive review of the way Mathematics is taught in our schools. This review was data-driven and included classroom observations, service assessments, and interviews with teachers and principals,” deCastro stated.
“What we found was clear. Many of our teachers, especially at the primary level, lack the confidence and conceptual understanding needed to effectively teach foundational mathematics,” she continued.
The Minister additionally attributed the low pass rate in Mathematics to the impact of the 2021 pandemic and the 2017 storms that affected the BVI. She noted that Mathematics was impacted globally, with nearly 60% of students now performing below expectations in the subject.
DeCastro stated that students’ performance in territorial examinations, such as the Exit Proficiency Examination (EPE) and the stage assessments, reflected the same issues as in CXC.
She highlighted a ‘MATHevated’ project launched at the 2024 Summer Institute for Educators aimed at improving the way math is taught in the territory, acknowledging that there is still work to be done in the teaching and learning of the subject.
DeCastro also emphasized that the Ministry must continuously shift strategies until there is a proven solution.
“As we continue to reimagine education in the Virgin Islands, it is essential to recognize that curriculum review and data-driven instruction are the key to unlocking our students’ full potential,” she stated.
“As a captain must regularly recalibrate their course to navigate turbulent waters, we must continuously adjust our educational strategies to ensure that we are moving in the right direction,” the Minister for Education continued.
Earlier this year, she indicated that there was a need for improvement in Mathematics, as the Virgin Islands recorded a pass rate of 46.45% in the June 2024 CXC Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results.
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I hope the BVI wakes up to understand that poor foundational teaching INCLUDES the bad parenting habits and lack of community efforts to raise a studious generation.
You can’t blame the teachers for bad parenting,the parents of those child have a role to play aswell,look at rest of the Caribbean countries,children coming out with 27 subjects while bvi doing 7 or 8,too much idle time children have because parents work and barely have time for themselves,the government should partner with guyana, Barbados and st kitts for school program when it comes for teachers and students,give our children the opportunity to go to those country with taxpayers funding and stop shearing it out on projects that doesn’t make sense.