US-based Trini Professor reflects on impact of SEA exam
As a rite of passage into the secondary school system in Trinidad and Tobago, children must complete the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) in their last year of primary school. The SEA exam is a replacement to the Common Entrance Exam which was first introduced in 1961 out of the need to assign students to a limited number of secondary school spots. As such, a well-known feature of the Common Entrance Exam was that many students failed and had to repeat the exam or dropped out of school. However, with the SEA exam being introduced in 2001, there was already a significant increase in secondary school spots though it was still possible for a student to fail the exam and need to repeat. Like its predecessor, the SEA exam is still considered a high-stakes test as students are ranked and sent to schools based on their performance on the exam.
As such, student learning and outcomes are often focused on ensuring that students pass for their top school of choice even if it means having to travel over an hour from home. Often times, the school of choice is thought to predict future success. Within the competitive climate of the SEA exam, students often begin their preparation for the exam in the third standard of elementary school (two years prior to taking the exam). The duty for continuing the learning process is often transferred to parents who often report that their children need to do homework and study late into the night. The alternative would be to wake up early to do so. Student work is often filled with rote learning and content that is specific to the test.
There are trade programs at some of the lower performing schools that many students enjoy and in which they excel. It is not uncommon to see some of these students later going into long-term careers with highly competitive salaries. However, even with this potential advantage, there is concern that students from particular demographic groups (eg. those with a low socioeconomic status) are likely to be the ones placed at lower-performing schools. An important set of skills to academic success in many career fields is the ability to be creative, problem-solve, and engage in critical thinking. If Trinidad and Tobago is to become a leader in innovation, technology development, and an overall top performer in the world academically, these skills must be nurtured. The extra time spent on test preparation at home and at school take away time that should be spent in free play, socialization, learning of musical instruments, relaxation, and bonding time with the family.
Such activities are more critical to brain development, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking than formalized teaching. In fact, while in conversation one teacher shared that her first form students are typically burnt-out from the level of rigour and demand placed on them during elementary years.One may then ask, “What are the options if SEA is taken away?” The response to this question requires thoughtfulness, planning, and consideration of options for restructuring. A focus on social and emotional development including character development, free play to stimulate brain development in the areas of critical thinking and problem solving, no homework, and sending students to their neighborhood schools so the rich attend the same school as everyone else. A final thought on this topic is that Trinidad and Tobago is in dire need of research to examine practices that are in place. As research-proven programs are implemented, they must be evaluated to determine continued effectiveness and need for change.
As such, student learning and outcomes are often focused on ensuring that students pass for their top school of choice even if it means having to travel over an hour from home. Often times, the school of choice is thought to predict future success. Within the competitive climate of the SEA exam, students often begin their preparation for the exam in the third standard of elementary school (two years prior to taking the exam). The duty for continuing the learning process is often transferred to parents who often report that their children need to do homework and study late into the night. The alternative would be to wake up early to do so. Student work is often filled with rote learning and content that is specific to the test.
There are trade programs at some of the lower performing schools that many students enjoy and in which they excel. It is not uncommon to see some of these students later going into long-term careers with highly competitive salaries. However, even with this potential advantage, there is concern that students from particular demographic groups (eg. those with a low socioeconomic status) are likely to be the ones placed at lower-performing schools. An important set of skills to academic success in many career fields is the ability to be creative, problem-solve, and engage in critical thinking. If Trinidad and Tobago is to become a leader in innovation, technology development, and an overall top performer in the world academically, these skills must be nurtured. The extra time spent on test preparation at home and at school take away time that should be spent in free play, socialization, learning of musical instruments, relaxation, and bonding time with the family.
Such activities are more critical to brain development, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking than formalized teaching. In fact, while in conversation one teacher shared that her first form students are typically burnt-out from the level of rigour and demand placed on them during elementary years.One may then ask, “What are the options if SEA is taken away?” The response to this question requires thoughtfulness, planning, and consideration of options for restructuring. A focus on social and emotional development including character development, free play to stimulate brain development in the areas of critical thinking and problem solving, no homework, and sending students to their neighborhood schools so the rich attend the same school as everyone else. A final thought on this topic is that Trinidad and Tobago is in dire need of research to examine practices that are in place. As research-proven programs are implemented, they must be evaluated to determine continued effectiveness and need for change.
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Dr Kezia Gopaul-Knights was born in Trinidad and migrated to the United States of America where she pursued her graduate studies in School, Clinical, and Counseling Psychology. She has over a decade of experience working in California public schools as a school psychologist fostering the academic and social-emotional growth of children and adolescents. She is currently an Assistant Professor of School Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles in the Department of Special Education and Counseling.
