Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary for Education, Research and Technology, Zorisha Hackett has revealed that Tobago demonstrated significant improvement in this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA).
Five girls and five boys were the top-performing SEA pupils in Tobago, with a girl leading the pack as the island’s highest scorer.
Statistics released by the division showed the average overall total score for Tobago’s schools writing the exam increased from 191.58 in 2022 to 193.88 in 2023, and now stands at 196.64 in 2024.
This figure indicates that Tobago is only 3.36 mean score points below the national mean of 200 points.
Hackett said there was also an increase in the number of schools scoring above the national mean for this year’s SEA.
“There was an increase in the number of schools scoring above the national mean and we’ve been on a steady increase post-COVID,” Hackett said.
The division said it will continue with its goal of matching and exceeding the National Mean annually.
However, despite what it called noticeable strides, the division said 32 pupils will have to resit the examination, as their scores fell under 30 per cent.
To help them get up to speed with their peers, the division said it will again implement Project IMPACT during the vacation period.
It said the series of remedial classes aims to build the pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills.
The release said next week, a deeper analysis of the SEA results will be presented at a media conference.
In May, Hackett announced the implementation of a Tobago-centric curriculum to preserve the island’s cultural heritage.
The initiative will begin in September next year in the island’s pre-schools, primary schools, and secondary schools.
Overall, this year, Trinidad and Tobago’s average SEA scores in Mathematics, English Language Arts, and English Language Arts Writing were – 50.7; 53.3; and 59, respectively.