We have published today a Press Release that carries the headline: “Cayman Islands Schools Survey: “Students are satisfied with their school”’.

Excellent.

This is a quite different outcome from what I was expecting. The consensus feeling I was getting from the poor examination results would have produced quite a different result.

“Over 600 Year 5 and 6 students in the Cayman Islands Government Primary School system say they are satisfied with the quality of education provided at their school, according to recent surveys conducted by the Office of Education Standards (OES),” the Survey proudly states. “In total, 502 parents, 189 staff (both teaching and non-teaching) and 603 students completed the online questionnaires.”

Not one person who completed the survey said anything bad about any of the schools.

Amazing.

Actually, not so when you delve into the questions asked. The persons taking part have to only answer specific questions asked with a tick.

Let us take just one of the four categories and see what some of the questions are .

WHAT DID PARENTS FEEL ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN’S SCHOOL?

Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of satisfaction provided at this school.

The school is well led.

The quality of teaching is good.

The behaviour of most students in the school is good.

The school provides good quality resources for my child’s learning.

My child is making good progress in English.

My child is making good progress in mathematics.

My child is making good progress in science.

Overall in all subjects, I am making good progress in my learning

The word used in every question is “good”.

Nowhere in any of the questions asked is the word “bad” used.

Perhaps the Office of Education Standards (OES), that executed the survey, would like to execute another one with ‘bad’ substituted for “good”…?

I wonder if the conclusions the OES have come out with might be very different?

What a total waste of time and money.

It really is a very GOOD result and just what the Education Department wanted. If they were really serious about the children’s education system in place today the questionnaire would have been very different.

Not a BAD result anywhere. Except the survey was not GOOD at all.