GSAT changes coming next month
- Feb
- 21
Jodi-Ann Gilpin, Gleaner Writer
EDUCATION MINISTER Ronald Thwaites has said there will be some changes in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) next month, in an attempt to improve critical thinking among students.
“There are some changes, particularly in the social studies and science questions. They involve more critical thinking and problem solving than simply regurgitating what you have memorised; we really want our students to move away from that,” Thwaites told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
He said his ministry wants a more creative syllabus when it rolls out the new GSAT curriculum in the 2016-2017 academic year.
“We want this process to continue as we move towards a more open curriculum that is far more open to thought and creative learning than simply to memorise facts,” he said.
The minister also emphasised that there has to be a change in how children are placed in high schools.
“I want all our schools to be good choices, and this is something that will continue even for this year. All our schools can’t be good choices if we have an apartheid system,” said Thwaites, following a meeting of private-sector stakeholders and international funding agencies at the Wyndham hotel, New Kingston.
“We will have to find ways that are acceptable to parents, acceptable to communities, so that we encourage excellence not only in some places but everywhere,” he said.
jodi-ann.gilpin@gleanerjm.com
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