11-plus

Monday was Common Entrance Exam day in Barbados.  Primary school students take the Common Entrance Exam (CEE), also known as the 11-plus exam, to determine what secondary school they will be attending.  Based on their results in the exam (which consists of Math and English tests delivered over the course of about half a day) they will either qualify for one of the islands older, more prestigious secondary institutions, or one of the newer, rather poorly regarded schools or somewhere in between.

The Common Entrance exam is a big deal. Children and their teachers and parents spend months preparing for it.  Extra lessons and special tuition are the norm.  Coming up to 11-plus time, there are TV programmes (11 and Ready is one I remember) designed to help students improve their test scores, and special newspaper inserts with mock test questions and specimen answers.  In the weeks before the test, it's not uncommon for parents to start feeding their children a lot of fish, because fish is supposed to be "brain-food".  On the day of the exam itself, you'll see crowds of anxious parents outside the secondary schools that double as testing centres with their children, checking that their pencils are sharp, that they have enough erasers, that they have clean fresh handkerchiefs (to wipe the sweat and tears the examination will provoke?), and plying them with sandwiches and Shirley biscuits and juice to make sure that they've eaten enough that they don't start to get "bad feels" in the exam room.  And the parents will hang around the school for the entire three or four hours of the test, waiting for the children to emerge, to ask anxiously "How it was?  It went okay? How you think you did?"  The newspapers on the next day will feature pages of pictures of children and parents and teachers before and after the exams.  And when the results come out, there will be literally day after day after day of articles about the "top students", celebrating the boys and girls who managed to achieve test scores high enough to get them to the "best" schools, to Harrison College or Queen's College or Combermere. It's a big deal.

There has been much debate among educators and policy makers about the use of the Common Entrance Exam as an assessment scheme.  I can't claim any sort of expertise in the field, but I do feel that it must be hard on little kids, 10 and 11 years old, to be under such pressure.  You hear the stories of kids who get so nervous that they start to cry, or have asthma attacks or wet themselves in the exam rooms.  I knew a girl who got so worked up about her 11-plus that she was given tranquilisers to calm her down; they calmed her down so much that she fell asleep over her exam paper, didn't answer a single question. 

To a child that age, it can probably feel like your entire future is hanging in the balance.  (I can only speculate, because fortunately the results of my own Common Entrance Exam was largely irrelevant to my educational future at the time.) Will your marks elevate to one of the good schools or will they condemn you forever to one of the other schools, one of the schools for the dunces and the hard-heads? It must feel a bit like the rest of your life hinges on those few hours in an exam room, that the results on that test will reveal whether you are fated to be a success or a failure.  And you're only eleven years old!  That's got to be tough.

I don't know whether the Common Entrance is or isn't the best way to test proficiency.  I do know that when I see the students after the exams, some looking happy and confident, some relieved, some on the brink of tears, I hope that someone is there to reassure them (especially the ones on the brink of tears) that their destinies are not determined by their test scores, to let them know that they love them, to give them a big hug and a kiss, and maybe to treat them to some ice-cream afterwards.

(Photo courtesy of UNICEF.)

Comments

[Francine]

There is so much pressure over Common Entrance these days, much more than I remember when I did it (back in 79 in Grenada, seems like eons ago!). One the one hand I think it's good that we still place such an emphasis on getting a good education, but on the other hand I think we need to realise that having a good education shouldn't mean just in academia. I really think we need to provide many different ways for our children to excell.

[Shai Mohammed]

One of the things I miss is the idea of the 11+ as the big exam. Here in the states we test kids every other year, and administer practice exams in the off years. Can you imagine going through that EVERY YEAR?
It's hideous, and the kids aren't learning intellectual processing, problem-solving or to thirst for knowledge, but are instead being pummelled by test fatigue and test-taking skills classes. It's awful.
The 11+ may not be the best way to do it, but I guarantee you that it's better than here.

[camilla]

i did common entrance this year it was kinda easy.

[tori]

i will be setting common entrance exam next year in may and i hope to go to one of the top schools in the island and to show each and everyone at ST.George Primary what i can do.These are the schools i want to go to:ST.Michael wih my cousin,Lodge,Harrisons Colledge and lat and not least Queens Colledge

[Tori Nicholls]

My name is Tori Nicholls i am 11 yesrs old I live in vally land st.george I go to school at ST.George Primary I am setting the 11 plus next year i hope to got to one of the top Schools in Barbados such as:St.Michaels,Lodge,Combermare and Harrisons are even Queens Collegde are even foundation i like foundation the best that i can go to one of those top schools i just listed and i am going to make sure i do so

[Tori Nicholls]

My name is Tori Nicholls i am 11 yesrs old I live in vally land st.george I go to school at ST.George Primary I am setting the 11 plus next year i hope to got to one of the top Schools in Barbados such as:St.Michaels,Lodge,Combermare and Harrisons are even Queens Collegde are even foundation i like foundation the best that i can go to one of those top schools i just listed and i am going to make sure i do so

[Tori Nicholls]

My name is Tori Nicholls i am 11 yesrs old I live in vally land st.george I go to school at ST.George Primary I am setting the 11 plus next year i hope to got to one of the top Schools in Barbados such as:St.Michaels,Lodge,Combermare and Harrisons are even Queens Collegde are even foundation i like foundation the best that i can go to one of those top schools i just listed and i am going to make sure i do so

[crystal derrell]

My name is Crystal Derrell and i will be taking the exam this year.My school is St.Davids Primary and i really have my eyes set on Queens College for my teacher said i could get there.I will do my very best in the exam because i think it cant be as hard as it looks.

[allison]

I think the article is written in a biased fashion. Testing is a fact of life. So is streaming. One has to group abilities in order to help them grow at the speed they are capable of. It is the parents and other adults who make children feel badly when they don't get into an older grammar school. What is needed at all secondary schools is a way to properly assess the talents of students and help them to develop them. That is missing from all schools at this point. What else is missing is programs that help children to express themselves confidently. Many "bright" students cannot do this, whereas any american child can.

[allison]

All secondary schools should be brought up to a certain level. In the same way Combemere can be known for its music programme, other schools should be known for their strengths. There is a school of thought in Barbados that the CEE should be abolished, this is the concept of lazy minds that cannot conceive of how to fix the problem of our lacking educational system. It is harder to enhance the system than to abolish it. Academically inclined children go to both Harrison and Garrison. Those who are passionate about the arts and sports go to these schools alike. E.G. Oba is a Harrisonian and Rihanna is a Combemerian. IE they make a successful living from non traditional non academic fields. Similarly there are doctors and lawyers who come from newer secondary schools. The point is all secondary schools must be developed in order for there students to shine. I went to an older grammar school, dropped art after 1st form because i had what I considered to be a horrible art teacher, I picked it up again in 5th form with the most brilliant and inspiring art teacher. That set the course for my life and now I have an art-based career from which I make a good living. The problem with most schools is that they don't know how to get the best out of their students.

[Kerrie]

Testing and being able to meet requierd standards is part of life. My only problem with the way in which this is done is the end result where we have chidren who are well drilled for an exam in two subjects. The ones with the top results go on to the higher secondary schools and some of these so called top schools do not produce well rounded individuals.
I have a 13yr old niece who attends Harrison College and I was shocked to find out she knew nothing about Barbadian culture (eg kadooment) and general affairs. I live in the UK where all the qualifications in the world doesn't guarantee a top job. It is however the persons with leadership skills and drive who are most successful.
I have a lot of respect for The Combermere School which produces outstanding students from all disciplines. Whether it be the Arts, Sports, Sciences or even cadets or performing arts. Pupils are encouraged to excel in all areas. Not just Maths, English and Science!

[Venom]

I took the 11 plus when I lived in Barbados years ago and came 2nd in the country.
It is a very good indicator of intelligence.
I went to Harrison College for a while until I moved to the United States and graduated high school at 16.
I now have 3 degrees including an MBA.

[Jordan Flipsyde]

Chance to read your blog, I really like your blog, let me learn a lot! I will focus on your blog, refuels!

[krish]

It is a very good indicator of intelligence.
What is needed at all secondary schools is a way to properly assess the talents of students and help them to develop them. That is missing from all schools at this point.................thank uuuuuuuuuuuu
http://www.elevenplus.co