Assessing Competing Perspectives: A Critical Analysis of Guyana’s National Grade Six Assessment

Abstract

This article critically examines a number of competing perspectives on the impact of the National Grade Six Assessment, a high-stakes examination that is used as a tracking tool for students that are eleven years and older transitioning from primary schools into secondary schools in Guyana, a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. Hence, there is an achievement gap between children of affluent parents and children of low-income parents in the country. The article concludes that low-income parents cannot afford extra tutoring and private schools and therefore low-income students are marginalized, and that primary schools are not the great equalizer in terms of creating equity between children of low-income parents and children of affluent parents.