Barbados TODAY broke the story ‘Alarming Test’ in our Tuesday, October 4, edition. Our report stated that the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training administered an exam to first form students at secondary schools across the island. However, some parents complained that the test was “distasteful and invasive”.Parents who spoke to Barbados TODAY said their children were quizzed on their sexuality, gender identity, substance use and abuse as well as personal information about their parents.One parent lamented: “I didn’t know about it until my daughter got home, but I honestly think that some person needs to be held accountable for this. These are 11-year-old students and some of these questions, in my opinion, planted seeds in their heads. Do you think a child is thinking what gender they want to be? Asking children questions like if they think about sex often and if they take illegal drugs without their parents knowing, all of that was distasteful!”A memo circulated to teachers stated that the pre-test, which contained close to 300 questions and lasted for two hours, had been “sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training and Code.org will provide the personnel to supervise the examinations.”
