P.S.E. results get better
The Ministry of Education has released the results of the Primary School Examination for 2001. Bea Jay Armstrong of Grace Primary School in Belize City attained ninety-six percent, the highest overall average of the five thousand, three hundred and thirteen students who sat the May seventh exam. Armstrong will be awarded the Jane and Michael Nembhard Scholarship for the high school of her choice. Today News 5 spoke to a happy Bea Jay Armstrong.
Bea Jay Armstrong, Highest Overall Average
“It’s absolutely amazing. It’s the most fulfilling thing right now, to know that all my hard work just paid off, and to know that my mother and everyone will be so proud of me. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Ann-Marie Williams
What high school are you planning on going, or where do you want to go?”
Bea Jay Armstrong
“I want to go to St. Catherine’s Academy. That’s where I’m planning to go.”
The second highest overall average of ninety-three point seven percent was achieved by Chenel Waight of St. Joseph School. According to the Director of the Quality Assurance and Development Services, Maude Hyde, there has been an overall increase in student performance in the three subject areas tested; English, Mathematics and Science. However, the English results were a bit disappointing.
Maude Hyde, Director, QUADS
“The results have shown some improvements, of course we would have liked to see better scores in English particularly, but science has seen improvement and also mathematics.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Can you single out maybe a number of reasons why there has been an improvement?”
Maude Hyde
“Well we know for sure that teachers have been working very hard with their students. They’ve focussed particularly on the problem solving part of the mathematics paper, we’ve seen some improvement there. In the area of science we have emphasised so much that science is not given sufficient attention in the primary schools, and I believe that teachers are really picking up on those suggestions and working with them.”
The P.S.E. is designed to measure student’s mastery in the three content areas tested.
