Four of Bermuda’s public schools are failing and most of the others are merely satisfactory or worse, according to what Premier Ewart Brown last night dubbed the “most meaningful and comprehensive” review ever conducted of the education system.

The hard-hitting findings of a team of experts tasked with pinpointing why more than half the Island’s senior school students fail to graduate each year were revealed in a radio and television broadcast — plus ten recommendations for the “rapid raising of standards”.

The experts — led by British professor David Hopkins — visited every one of the Island’s public schools in March and discovered that a quarter of lessons are taught inadequately, that the curriculum is inconsistent and that principals are failing to ensure quality teaching.

The inquiry concluded that not one of the middle schools was better than satisfactory; that two primary schools, one middle school and one senior school were inadequate and that only two schools — both primary — were outstanding.

But the most damning criticism was reserved for the Ministry of Education which was described as “poorly-led and mismanaged”, “secretive” and in need of a “radical overhaul”.

The team recommended sacking senior Ministry staff and bringing in a temporary external executive board to oversee a “major restructuring”.

Dr. Hopkins said those two recommendations needed implementing urgently along with:

[bul] Dramatically improve teaching by bringing in external assessors, introducing staff performance reviews and monitoring the progress of every pupil.

[bul] Raising the quality of leadership from principals by appointing off-Island consultants to act as mentors and carrying out “360 degree” appraisals.

[bul] Introducing transparent accountability and enhancing school autonomy by having annual testing at primary levels three and six, middle level three and senior levels two and four and introducing annual school reviews.

[bul] Joining the two senior schools — CedarBridge and Berkeley Institute — together in a federation and appointing an executive principal to oversee both and raising the school leaving age to 18.

The final four recommendations — creating self-governing federations around clusters of primary schools and each middle school; aligning the curriculum across the board; improving support for students with learning difficulties and harnessing the power of parents and the wider community — were for the longer-term.

Six primary schools and four middle schools were deemed satisfactory by the experts, who also classified eight primary and one senior school as good.

“Our feeling is that good should be the minimum standard acceptable on this Island,” said Professor Hopkins.

His team found leadership was inadequate at two primary schools; satisfactory at seven primary, three middle and one senior school; good at six primary, two middle and one senior school and outstanding at three primary schools.

The report does not identify the schools and their individual performances and a Government spokesman told this newspaper there were no plans to do so — despite the inquiry team’s recommendation for “transparent accountability at all levels”.

Professor Hopkins said: “The focus of the review is on the system itself and not on individual schools and teachers.”

Education Minister Randy Horton — a former high school principal — told viewers that Government would now “continue to study these recommendations over the next few weeks, examine their feasibility and prioritise their implementation”.

He admitted the report pulled no punches but said: “Government will not flinch at taking necessary actions which will lead to improved student achievement.”

Mr. Horton said some recommendations would be implemented in the next school year but did not specify which.

Dr. Brown said the results confirmed “what we know as a community to be true”.

He continued: “Our children are not being properly equipped to compete and in some cases are lacking in the basic skills required to function effectively in the 21st Century.

Dr. Brown concluded: “Some of the findings are not easy to face but face them we must.”

Professor Hopkins admitted that the report painted a “bleak picture” of education in Bermuda but added that his team had uncovered great potential and a strong willingness to improve among teachers.

Teachers’ union president Lisa Trott told The Royal Gazette after the broadcast that though teachers did not come out of the inquiry “unscathed” they were committing to doing all they could to improving standards.

“I don’t think that it will necessarily shock teachers,” she said. “I think that there is a genuine recognition that things have gone awry and they have gone awry now for some time.”

Education's failing grade