Marking of NGSA scripts begins

MORE THAN 200 MARKERS have begun grading National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA)
papers in the four subject areas at the two centres in the capital. Results should be available by
October.

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, toured the two marking centres, Tutorial High School
and North Georgetown Secondary, to have a firsthand look at the activities evaluating the
Mathematics, English Language, Science and Social Studies responses of the 14,000-odd
students from the public and private primary school systems.
The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) have oversight of the 210 persons marking the
students’ scripts.
Students wrote this year’s NGSA tests with the deadly CORONA VIRUS pandemic still raging,
and the Education Ministry ensured that all candidates and invigilators were safe over the two-
day examination exercise.
To prepare students for this year’s exams, the education ministry distributed individual study
packages containing all the necessary textbooks for the four subject areas. The ministry also
created a consolidated curriculum and extended the reach of its distance-learning programme
through the Guyana Learning Channel.
In a brief chat, Manickchand told script markers that in the last five years reviews of scripts
resulted in a 30 percent change in grades initially awarded to candidates. Parents can challenge
the marks and school awarded their children by paying a fee required by the ministry,
Manickchand reminded.
It is imperative that mistake be avoided this year, to maintain the integrity of the NGSA marking
system and the trust of parents and the publics in general, the minister said.
Not many parents are aware of the existence of the review process.

The regional CXC has been managing the NGSA examination since 2016, but pleads ignorance
about grade changes of some students’ scripts. Manickchand asked CXC officials to tighten and
carefully manage all steps in the grading processes this year. In the engagement with teachers,
the Minister of Education said that many policies had been changed this year.
CXC will also manage review processes this year in addition to preparing test questions,
administering the NGSA and marking the students’ scripts.
Markers were selected from across the country, some from regions outside of Georgetown
and Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four) for the first time.