Students in Bermuda's public education system are to be compulsorily tested annually on social studies and science from next year, the Government announced yesterday.

Education Minister Terry Lister revealed the plan at a Press conference in which he told of substantial changes to the way pupils are assessed in public schools.

Local curriculum tests, known as BEAP and BMAP, have been discontinued with immediate effect and students will not sit them this year.

But they will have to take a shorter, updated version of the Terra Nova test, which measures the achievements of students on the Island against their counterparts in North America. It will include elements of the local curriculum tests. The local curriculum itself is also to be reviewed and improved.

This May, schools will have to test all students from P3 to S2 ? except those with severe learning disabilities ? on English language arts and mathematics. They will have the option this year to test on social studies and science, but that will become mandatory from May, 2007.

Mr. Lister said: "We are aiming to provide a more robust assessment programme that would increase accountability throughout the public school system for the ultimate benefit of our students.

"The needs of our students will be better served as a result and we will have a more consistent method of measuring performance and student achievement and improving the integrity of reporting that performance."

The Ministry of Education has come under fire recently for the low numbers of pupils graduating from public schools ? just over 50 per cent last year.

Mr. Lister said the revamped tests would address the need for "more rigorous, comprehensive and current local curriculum assessment".

He added: "With these changes we aim to establish a more effective tool for benchmarking student achievement and to ensure the testing standards are in line with international standards.

"With the inclusion of social studies and science, the Bermuda public school system will have a more comprehensive assessment programme in terms of content.

"The programme is being designed to more full satisfy the requirement to include a high level of student participation in annual testing."

The changes were welcomed by Opposition Minister Neville Darrell last night. He said the UBP had long called for compulsory annual assessments which were aligned with international tests and that these would help students compete on a global playing field for jobs after graduation.

"We need to have more tools to give us an objective picture of how children are performing both locally and how they compare to international students. I'm pleased the Minister has heard the position of our party."

Last year's Terra Nova exams showed that pupils' reading, mathematics and language skills have improved somewhat since 1999/2000 ? the first year the Terra Nova test was administered ? but are still below the average of 50 percent.The Government has awarded the contract for the programme to CTB/McGraw Hill, which outbid two other companies.

It will work with teacher committees to develop the assessment tests.