Thousands of students sit the PSE

Thousands of students countrywide sat the first part of the national Primary School Examination (PSE) on Monday March 23rd. In San Pedro Town, a total of 298 students from seven schools on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker partook in the exams. The examination took place at the San Pedro High School and the first part of the exam tested the students in their knowledge of English and Science.
The exam saw the students tackling 50 multiple choice English questions in the first part of the morning and were given four options in each question. They had to fill-in their answers on a computer readable sheet. The second part of the English paper tested the students’ writing, mental and creative ability. They were given the opportunity to write a friendly or business letter, and also a narrative/story from four available choices. After their lunch break, the students took the Science paper in which they were given 50 multiple choice questions extracted from material covered as part of their General and Health Science curriculums.
“It was a bit challenging but not too much. The English paper was easy, especially the letter writing. The hardest part of the exam had to do with science questions… We had a few questions having to do with the eyes and diseases and they were a bit confusing,” explained Elias Zetina of New Horizon Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) School. According to Zetina, he has been preparing for months and in the next few weeks, he will continue to prepare for the second part of the exam.
Tristian Magaña of Caye Caulker Roman Catholic School said that he was nervous at the start of the exam but managed to calm down and concentrate. He explained that the written part of the English was challenging to him. “For the most part, the questions were easy and I answered them like a breeze. The writing part of the English was more complex for me, especially when we were tested with our creative writing skills. It is hard to come with persuasive writing skills in order to keep the reader’s interest.”
A total of 98 students from San Pedro Roman Catholic School, 34 from Holy Cross Anglican School, 65 from New Horizon SDA, 22 from La Isla Bonita Elementary School, nine from The Island Academy and 12 from Ambergris Caye Elementary School sat the exams. Meanwhile 50 students from Caye Caulker Roman Catholic participated in the exams. There were also two special needs students who sat the PSE on the island.
This is the first time that the multiple choice section is on computer readable paper, which was printed with the student’s name and other particulars. The second part of the PSE will be sat on May 4th and will consist of Mathematics and Social Studies.