SBA’s for CSEC English and Mathematics

Many of our students come from the lower-achieving cohorts of the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) and often require remedial work.

They experience great difficulty in assimilating abstract concepts or in consistently applying them. This is exacerbated in Mathematics which is perhaps more inherently abstract. In addition, the students have to overcome literacy, discipline, social and family issues throughout their time in school.

In teaching our students, it is necessary to link conceptual development to the real world and practical applications, but certain content areas do not readily lend themselves to such links.

The real life connection or basis is not always readily visible. A certain level of skill in thinking analytically is required even to discern the concept from real life situations or to apply it to such situations.

In this new Mathematics Syllabus, the focus seems to be shifted away from the more readily visible Computation, Number Theory, and Consumer Arithmetic/Measurement to the more abstract Vectors/Matrices/ Geometry/Trigonometry content areas.

There also seems to be a slight de-emphasis of the Algebra and Statistics areas.

This is reflected in the structure of Paper One, highlighted by the introduction of questions on Vectors and Matrices. It can also be seen in the structure of Paper Two with the proportionately greater allocation of marks in those areas and to problem solving skills.

Teachers already experience difficulty in having students complete syllabus requirements in these areas and it can be anticipated that the shift in the emphasis/focus will be disadvantageous to the students in the examination under the new format.

Some schools generally lack the online capacity, the relevant application software or other resources and materials re. the suggested facilitation of teaching and learning activities.

The proposed emphasis on the link between Mathematics and other disciplines is not as easy to explore or develop given the reasons advanced earlier.

The SBA projects in Mathematics require a level of higher order cognitive capacity. These take great time and effort to develop in many students. Time constraints will militate against students developing the application, analytical and evaluation skills to allow for meaningful projects across the width of the curriculum.

Time constraints will hamper students’ development of competence across the different content areas even as individual students’ projects are developed and managed both inside and outside class time.

Students will now have to meet SBA requirements in virtually all subject areas with the introduction of SBA in English A/B and Mathematics.

This increases the workload and stress on already challenged students as they simultaneously grapple with SBA requirements in six (6) or seven (7) different subject areas. Many students are already overwhelmed by the number of SBA’s they have to complete. It could also lead to an increase in dishonest practices re. submission of SBA.

These factors seem to negate the common assertion that SBA requirements help students succeed by enabling them to gain marks even before the final examination.

The new syllabus, and especially the introduction of the SBA requirement, is being advanced without any proper consultation with the vast majority of teachers.

There has admittedly been little or no sensitisation or training offered to teachers even as the change was effected in September 2016.

The time frame for the int roduc t ion of this change is hopelessly short, given the number of perquisites that must be put in place.