Poverty & Social Development: A Caribbean Perspective

Post grad students launch test preparation website for major Caribbean examinations

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE, USA: A group of Caribbean post graduate students have launched an online website, that will give Caribbean schoolchildren access to more than 4,000 English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies practice questions.

The student training system found at www.caribbeanexams.com features over forty full-length, timed, computer-adaptive tests whose delivery simulates that of the actual exam. It includes resources for parents, practice questions, answers, and explanations (via an online help desk), as well as a comprehensive Language Arts review section.

The website provides resources to enhance the preparation process for the following examinations:

° Grade Level Assessment Test (GLAT),
° Common Entrance Examination (CEE),
° Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT),
° Continuous Assessment Programme (CAP), and
° Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT).

After a student takes a practice test, they receive their scores instantly. They are able to review each of the test questions to see which items they missed. The system allows students to return and rework the questions they got wrong on the practice test with a view to developing successful test-taking strategies.

The site also features a real-time online grade book that identifies the student’s weaknesses and strengths, allowing them to focus on the areas that most need improvement.

The website’s exclusive examination techniques will show students super speed methods to get through the questions they know with ease, saving then time so they can concentrate on the hardest questions without rushing. Students will also:

° Learn to avoid procrastination.
° Learn to tell the difference between right answers and clever-sounding traps.
° Learn the secret to using contextual clues to make important distinctions between right and wrong answer choices.

"We are very excited to provide Caribbean students with this opportunity to improve their chances on their examinations," said Shalette Ashman-East, who spearheaded the project.

Technological infrastructure for the system is provided by the Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, an educational research institute based in South Florida.

"We've undergone many months of pilot testing, and we're delighted with the response now that it is widely available," Ashman-East said.