New student grouping system to be used in secondary schools this year |21 January 2013

Over the years different secondary schools have been implementing various models of student grouping. And this year, the Ministry of Education will adopt the new grouping system, starting with students of secondary one.

This model groups students with similar academic abilities together and provides them with appropriate teaching and learning materials so that their learning effectiveness can be further enhanced.

This was announced by the Minister for Education Macsuzy Mondon during her annual meeting with education leaders ahead of the start of the school year.

The meeting was held at the School of Education (former National Institute of Education) on Friday morning.

Minister Mondon said that with the implementation of “cross-level subject setting”, appropriate curricula will be provided for students to suit their abilities.
 
“Their learning will become more effective. As a result, their interests and confidence in learning will be further enhanced.

 By grouping students with similar abilities in the same class, teachers can focus their attention in teaching the appropriate curriculum without spending too much effort on curriculum adaptation to meet the learning needs of all students,” she said.

“Such an arrangement would expose students to all of the benefits of peer interaction and social development while allowing for the accelerated skills of some students to be honed in specific subjects.”

Minister Mondon also spoke about the changes in how assessment is done.

As part of the ongoing reform in the National Curriculum and Assessment Framework, the ministry this year will be introducing national assessments at the end of S5 for students deemed not able to sit the IGCSE/DELF, aimed at meeting the diverse needs of all learners in the system.
 
Mrs Mondon said this will result in these S5 students exiting with a certificate that will demonstrate their achievements at their particular level.

Students at S4 level who are eligible to sit IGCSE English as a second language and DELF scolaire niveau B1 examinations will now be given the opportunity do so.

“The selection of students for these examinations will be made at school level as per the ministry’s guidelines and procedures, of which details will be communicated in due course,” said Mrs Mondon.