Moderators' Welcome

Good morning Friends,We are very pleased that you have taken the time to join us for this important discussion on how to move our children from non-mastery to mastery in the Grade Four Literacy Test ( GFLT).The test, as you know began in 1999 as part of the National Assessment Programme which was introduced to provide a continuous assessment framework in which to track the progress of Jamaican children at the primary level. It began as a classroom based examination, administered and marked internally by each school, although set by the Ministry of Education.In 2009, The Government of Jamaica decided to convert it to a nationally administered examination, the results of which ultimately will determine whether or not children would be allowed to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test at the end of their primary schooling. There are many reasons for this change, chief among which was the vexing problem of children entering secondary school still unable to read.The use to which the GFLT results are put is not the focus of our discussion for the next three days. Our concerns lie in the fact that, although there has been some marginal improvement in the literacy rate as measured by this test, there is a consistent one third or so, of children who fail to achieve literacy mastery by the time they get to Grade Four.Of course, there are the usual differences according to gender and school type , with boys and girls in All Age schools performing the worst.For the next three days we will be trying to understand the reasons for this level of performance; discussing what educators and other stakeholders can do to help students achieve higher levels of mastery; and what options should be provided for students who, despite interventions fail to achieve mastery.We are keen on hearing what has been working in your school and in your classroom to nurture and push children to become literate. Achieving universal literacy is a stated goal of the Government of Jamaica and we are all agreed that even if we don't get to 100 per cent, we can do far better than the data suggests we have so far.What, in your experience, has been the main cause for our seeming inability to overcome these hurdles? Where do we need to begin? Where should the intrventions be focused? The students? The teachers? The parents? Other stakeholders?Join in, and let us all grow and benefit together.Jennifer, Maureen and Novelette.USAID/Jamaica Basic Education Project