Primary education in Jamaica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Primary education in Jamaica addresses the basic educational needs of students and prepares them for secondary education. It includes children between the ages of 6-12 years. There is the Revised Primary Curriculum [1] which ensures that the learning experiences are meaningful. It utilizes a variety of teaching strategies to make learning student centered. It adopts an integrated approach from grades 1-3 and a discrete subject area for grades 4-6.

There has been improvement on how students are assessed. At grade 1, the reading inventory is given to see if any basic skills are lacking and how ready children are for primary education. At the end of grade 3, diagnostic tests are given in mathematics and language arts, then the grade 4 literacy test at that level to ascertain the students’ ability to recognize words, read and understand simple passages as well as their ability to write stories, letters, reports and complete forms. At grade 6, students write the grade six achievement test in mathematics, language arts, social studies, science and writing during the second term which prepares them for placement at the secondary level.