National primary education assessment system has undergone some changes over the past decade. Based on new evaluation, students’ achievements and abilities in their report cards are not numerically recorded; instead feedbacks are described as ‘excellent’, ‘good’ and ‘can do better’.
The new system (qualitative outcome assessment method) appears to have created “a feel good” situation, unlike the old system where a score less than 20 had a dampening effect on students’ morale.
In the last two school years, (starts Sept. 23), 47 students who were assessed in the third category repeated their first grade in primary school.
The number of students repeating the first grade has reduced significantly due to the psychological effect of the new system of evaluation on the children, says Nader Jahanara, educational expert and sociologist, the Persian language weekly ‘Salamat’ reported.
Last year, about 1.3 million first graders enrolled in schools across the country,
“Although the figure is low for repeat students, we should make all efforts to reduce it to zero, as it can to some extent affect their future academic performance,” Jahanara said.
“The most difficult grade for teaching as well as learning is the first grade in primary school. During the last decade, about 4% of all first-graders repeated the first year,” he pointed out.
60% Attend Preschools
According to official reports, more than 60% of children attend preschool prior to joining primary school.
Earlier, Anoushiravan Mohseni Bandpei, head of the State Welfare Organization (SWO) had said that in the upcoming five-year economic development plan (2016-2021), the SWO would increase pre-school coverage by 6%.
At present, attending preschool is not part of the compulsory education system, Jahanara said stressing that, however the program “is an essential experience as it involves learning various skills such as articulation, social bonding, physical activities, math skills, etc.”
Attending preschool is critical to children’s success in school and therefore should be made mandatory. “Sometimes, first-graders who have not attended pre-school spend all their time trying to cope with the new situation they have been placed in, so they miss crucial lessons and practice.”
He also said the high percentage of failures occurs in the villages and most of the students who repeat a grade of primary school are boys.
Slow Learners
Having illiterate parents and not attending preschool are two important factors contributing to poor performance of students in the first few years of primary school.
Students who fail the first grade should not be deemed children with special needs or mentally backward, as almost all children undergo screening tests prior to entering school. “They may be just ‘slow learners’ who need more time, more repetition of the subject-matter, and often more resources from teachers to be successful.”
Inexperienced first grade teachers can significantly increase the risk of first-grade failures, as they are unable to recognize and remedy specific difficulties in children. While teachers should be encouraged to spend more time with slow learners, however, as the student-teacher ratio is usually high in the schools in the country, this is almost quite impossible.
