As Barbados and other regional economies consider reform of their education system and find ways to fill the gaps in learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Dr Wayne Wesley is warning that while emphasis must be placed on digital innovation, it must not be to the detriment of security and efficiency.
“The imperative that confronts us is to ensure that we navigate the new paradigm of digital innovation that will see us creating the balance for security and efficiency with validity and reliability. This is important as we preserve the integrity of the assessment systems we are using to certify competence,” said Wesley.
He was addressing the opening of the International Association of Educational Assessment (IAEA) annual conference on Monday, being held under the theme Digitalising, Assessment and Credentials, at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica.
Wesley said it was widely accepted by officials that the current education system was in need of adjustments.
“One thing that is common among us is the emerging fact from COVID-19 pandemic that there is a collective consciousness, understanding and realisation that the current educational construct must be reimagined, reformed and repositioned, particularly educational assessment,” he said.
“In this regard, digital innovation, while not the panacea, has proven to be optimally efficient and effective in alleviating many of the challenges that characterise the pre-pandemic system of assessments. It is undeniable that perhaps the most acute evidence of the influence of digital innovation is the impact of artificial intelligence, not only on teaching and learning, but also assessments.”
Late last month, during a ceremony in St Kitts and Nevis to present the results of the May/June 2023 CXC results, Wesley called for an overhaul of the education system to make it more adaptable to the needs of every child and stop condemning some students to a “life of doom”.
At that time, Wesley, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the CXC, said the examination body was in the process of working with countries on a “hybrid innovation” model that would see the recognition of national programmes that are designed to equip student with requisite skills and competencies in different areas.
“It is urgent that we take that step to save our young people and present them with a future where they can see themselves being prosperous and attaining the highest level of achievements,” he said.
During the opening of the IAEA conference on Monday, Jamaica’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Marsha Smith said the challenge in transforming the education system in the region was “having the facility or the capacity within which to educate according to the current situation on the ground”.
However, in welcoming the five-day conference, which has delegates from several countries around the world, Smith announced that Jamaica had launched a National School Leaving Certificate (NSLC) programme that will document the competencies and skills students developed over the entirety of their secondary school years and issue them with digital credentials.
Under this programme, successful students will be awarded badges and a certificate, with each certificate being unique to the learner, reflecting their achievement of competencies, performance in external examinations and completion of community service.
During the conference, officials are expected to explore the challenges and opportunities in assessing students’ competencies and achievements among other things. (MM)
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