The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas’ national examinations lack relevance to what school leavers require to be college and career-ready, a Bahamian-born academic said yesterday.

Dr Candice Deal, professor of accounting at Eastern Connecticut State University, told the 25th Bahamas Business Outlook conference that while she was not opposed to standardised testing, a reference to the BGCSE examination, it should be supplemented with a measuring tool designed to formulate a “college ready culture”.

Dr Deal said education investment goes beyond the call for financial subsidies, adding: “It means bringing awareness, change and the use of measuring tools to shift and change the structure of the curriculum

“For many years, the yardstick used in both public and private schools has been the BGCSE exams, but many questions are being raised about the appropriate emphasis being placed on the standardised exam in the public schools.

Dr Deal suggested that the BGCSE examination could be losing its reliability as the main benchmark for student college and career readiness.

“The BGCSE exam is deficient to what the country needs in pursuit of economic development,” said Dr Deal.

“I am not opposed to standardised testing of the exam. I think that it can stay in the form that it is in now and, instead of being substituted, be supplemented with a measuring tool designed to formulate a college-ready culture in the minds of our students.”

Dr Deal credited the Ministry of Education and private donors for providing scholarship opportunities to students.

“There should be no excuse for any student not being able to find funding for college,” she said. “The harsh reality of this is that only a few really benefit.”

Dr Deal added that of the government scholarships awarded in 2014, 93 per cent went to students that came from private schools. “The remaining 7 per cent went to students from public schools. Less than 20 per cent of students graduating from public secondary school transitioned to pursue a college degree,” she said.

Dr Deal said many public school students never apply for the scholarships, and the majority are not college ready. She added that high school should be responsible for preparing students for college, suggesting the 12th grade should be spent promoting college and career options.

Dr Deal said educational; woes are directly linked to labour force skills deficiencies. “We must educate, train and diversify our labour force. We must begin by recogniaing the needs of the country. Right now, we have a social need and an economic need. Socially, we need to focus on decreasing the crime rate, and economically we need a more skilled labour force,” said Dr Deal.

She added that pursuing a college degree should become the norm. “This can only be done through awareness and creating a culture of college readiness,” Dr Deal said.

“We need to increase the number of students, especially in the public school system, who pursue a tertiary education. The BGCSE does not support a culture of college readiness and career development in our high school system.”