The National Standards Curriculum

The National Standards Curriculum (NSC) has been introduced to the system since 2016. It is the groundwork on which the Primary exit Profile is set, and follows the same content. The full implementation of the NSC commenced on a phased basis in September 2016 in all public educational institutions at the Grades 1-9 levels.  The curriculum was changed to reflect a greater focus on concepts and 21st century skills and competencies. Since the curriculum has changed to include an emphasis on skills, the assessment must also change to measure students’ knowledge of concepts and application of the skills. One of the measures to determine the effectiveness of this curriculum and to assess students’ knowledge and demonstration of the 21st century skills (creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication) is the administration of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP).
PEP does not consist of just one hit or miss exam.  It is a series of evaluations that reflect the policy shift of the government and the need to track students’ progress over time. PEP is series of assessments that will be administered to students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 and will provide multiple assessment opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills based on the standards outlined in the NSC by applying knowledge and skills with emphasis on higher order thinking skills such as problem solving, analysis and synthesis.

The scores will be computed using the same approach as we did for GSAT which is the use of standard scores summed into composite scores which are used to rank and place students. The percentage score then shows in a simple way the students’ performance.

Results will be available as is the custom in the third week of June.

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