NATIONAL AVERAGE IMPROVED IN THIS YEAR’S COMMON ENTRANCE RESULTS

Students have made a major leap in English performance in this year’s 11-Plus exam, posting the highest national average in nearly a decade. But even with this milestone, education officials are warning that literacy and comprehension gaps—particularly among boys—remain a serious hurdle to sustained academic success.

Chief Education Officer Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, while addressing the media during the release of this year’s results of the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) on Monday, revealed that the national average in English climbed to 72.5 per cent, up from 65.2 last year and 69.5 in 2023. Mathematics scores also saw a noted improvement, with the national mean increasing to 60.2 per cent, compared to 54.6 in 2024 and 59.2 in the previous year. “These results reflect an upward trend,” Archer-Bradshaw told reporters, “…but a significant number of students continue to experience challenges in the use of English and their ability to comprehend expository text.”

While girls continued to outperform boys in both subjects, with female students surpassing the national mean across all sections, boys once again lagged behind. Still, there were moments of excellence across the board: 24 students—13 girls and 11 boys—scored full marks in mathematics, while three students achieved perfect scores in English. Two girls, however, scored zero in mathematics.

A total of 2,981 students from 67 public schools, 28 private institutions, and seven home-schooled environments sat the exam this year—slightly fewer than the 3,011 in 2024.
Archer-Bradshaw pointed to sustained gains over the last two years, crediting the ministry’s targeted literacy interventions for the steady improvement. Among the initiatives were Snappy Sounds, a phonics programme, and the Lindamood-Bell system, which supports comprehension development.

“Even as we speak, our teachers are undergoing training in how to teach reading and understanding effectively…we are addressing literacy within our schools in a very frontal way,” the chief explained. She also highlighted the foundational work of the National Task Force on Literacy, launched last year, and the ministry’s decision to take direct charge by appointing a dedicated literacy officer.

The top performers this year were Kaiya Walcott of Wills Primary School earned full marks in both English and mathematics and will head to Harrison College; Javanni Carmichael of St Paul’s Primary School scored 100 in English and 99 in mathematics and will attend Queen’s College.