Early announcement of NGSA dates will improve student preparation

“We want this to be as predictable as possible” – Minister Manickchand

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Tuesday announced the sitting of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), will take place on May 3 and 4, 2023 with results for placements being available by July 11, of the same year.

Minister Manickchand noted that the early announcement of the dates will help to ease the anxiety of students and parents and allow more time for student preparation.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

“We want this to be as predictable a process as possible. We would like to give you the chance to plan your holidays, plan your life, and not be guessing and waiting on the ministry,” minister Manickchand said.

The structure of the assessment will be based on the Grade Five curriculum and will include consolidated learning concepts from the Grades Three and Four curricula.

“The children who will be taking the [NGSA] exam next year in 2023, came out of school [face-to-face learning] in Grade Three, and we are very conscious of that; the work and time that was lost, we cannot recatch that or catch-up back or repair” the minister explained.

Moreover, in 2022, almost 16, 250 learners across Guyana underwent the assessment. This was an increase of 17.6 per cent compared to the 13,822 learners assessed for placements in 2021.

The National Grade Six Assessment is accredited by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) and is used as a tool to measure the learning outcomes of students being placed in high schools.

The students are tested in four subject areas– Mathematics, English, Science, and Social Studies.

Each of the subject areas tested includes two papers, paper one is made up of multiple-choice questions, while paper two contains open-ended essay-type questions.

To improve passing scores during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Education launched the Quiz-Me Platform, a website that offers students the opportunity to practice NGSA-type questions.

In addition, the ministry also launched the NGSA Booster Programme that allows teachers to record featured examination topics – as another learning tool to help students succeed.

These recorded videos were timetable scheduled and streamed on the Guyana Learning Channel’s YouTube channel.

When the new academic school year began in September of 2022, it marked the full opening of schools to face-to-face instruction – this marked a significant effort by the Ministry of Education that will improve NGSA preparation and learning outcomes.

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