The 2015 End of Primary Benchmark was held during the last week of May and the first week of June, the Department of Information said. The schools participating in this session of the End of Primary Benchmark included 62 State Schools, 22 Church Schools and 7 Independent Schools. The number of children who sat for these assessments was 3,625, 1,733 males (48%) and 1,892 females (52%) which totalled to 93% of the whole cohort of children in Year 6.
Year 6 candidates were assessed in Maltese, English and Mathematics.
In Maltese, candidates were assessed in Speaking (20 marks), Listening Comprehension component (20 marks), Reading Comprehension component (30 marks) and Writing component (30 marks). The national medians were as follows: 17 for the Oral component,16 for the Listening Comprehension component, 21 for the Reading Comprehension component and 19 for the Writing component. The national median for Maltese was 74.
In English, students were assessed in the same components as in Maltese and the national medians were as follows: 17 for the Oral component, 15 for the Listening Comprehension component, 23 for the Reading Comprehension component and 16 for the Writing component. The national median for English was 71.
Mathematics had two components: the Mental component (20 marks) and the Written component (80 marks). The national median for the Mental component was 16, whilst that for the Written component was 56, with the total national median for Mathematics being 72.
These statistical figures show that 50% of the candidates who sat for the 2015 End of Primary Benchmark scored 74 marks or more in Maltese, 71 marks or more in English and 72 marks or more in Mathematics.
Each Benchmark script was blind marked by two markers. A total of 126 markers were involved in this exercise: 48 for Maltese, 48 for English and 30 for Mathematics.
The results were sent to schools in the first week of July and they were sent to all the candidates on 7th July 2015. The results included the marks that the candidate scored in the different components of the three subjects in the Benchmark as well as the national medians for each component and for each subject. This was to enable parents to compare their child’s performance in each subject with the national median.
A number of information and discussion meetings about the Benchmark were held in Malta and Gozo with parents, teachers and Heads of School.
The 2015 End of Primary Benchmark papers will be available to download from http://www.curriculum.gov.mt under the section Examinations and Benchmark.