THE Ministry of Education will tomorrow release the results of the National Grade Six Assessment examination written by 17, 630 students in April.

In an invited comment yesterday, Minister of Education Mr. Shaik Baksh confirmed that he is in receipt of the results and is analyzing them. He also said that he will be presenting a summary of the results to the media at a press conference tomorrow.

The results will determine students’ placement at secondary schools for the new academic school year, which begins in September.

The Grade Six assessment replaces the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination, formerly known across the Caribbean region as ‘Common Entrance’, last held in 2005. It is an aggregate of three assessments done at Grades Two, Four and Six, so as to better allow teachers to discern students’ ability.

Students were evaluated in four core areas: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and English. The Grade Two assessment accounts for five per cent of the aggregate; Grade Four for 10 per cent, and Grade Six, 85 per cent.

The assessment was marked by trained teachers recruited for the process under strict conditions. To guide the procedure, marking schemes and a manual for the administration of the assessment were provided.

The Ministry implemented the National Grade Six Assessment six years ago, on a gradual basis. The first assessment at Grade Two was conducted in 2003 in Reading, Mathematics and English, followed by the second in 2005, at Grade Four.