The THA Division of Education, Innovation and Energy has described the performance of Tobago students in this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination as “encouraging and comparable with previous results."

“Each year, many students excel while others perform below the acceptable level,” the division said in a statement on Friday.

This year, Scarborough Methodist Primary School copped three of the top five places in the SEA. Jole St John placed first on the island and 39th nationally while Adiva Ogbeifun and Khymalee Saunders placed fourth and fifth respectively.

St Andrew’s Anglican student Raeya Charles placed second while Black Rock Government’s Xzehanny Hazel came in third.

This year, the division said nine students attained scores above 245.48 that was earned by the first placed student in 2020. It said the first placed student in 2021 scored 255.824 while the ninth placed scored 246.583.

“This represents an increase in the number of students performing at the highest level.”

The division said 84 students or 7.9 per cent scored under 30 per cent.

The performance of students in English language arts and creative writing, the division said, increased by 2.9 and 0.1 points respectively compared to the mean achieve in 2020.

However, the mean scores for Tobago in mathematics decreased by 7.2 points in 2021.

It attributed decreased performances by some students to the “novelty of online learning as face-to-face teaching is the preferred mode of learning for students at all levels of the education system.”

The division said it will continue to work cooperatively and collaboratively with principals, teachers, parents and students to improve the overall performances in all areas of the curriculum delivery, especially during this challenging time.

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