Change has been slow in coming — but in a few years Bermuda's students should be producing better results than those in the United States, according to education review chief Professor David Hopkins.

Professor Hopkins said the Ministry of Education had shown a reluctance to accept some of the damning criticisms in his report of the public schools system 18 months ago.

However, he said some schools were already showing signs of improvement thanks to the efforts of individual principals who have been spurred on to introduce new methods themselves.

And a strategic plan now in place should ensure that by 2013 Bermuda's students will be achieving at a higher level than their counterparts in the US.

In a joint interview with The Royal Gazette, Professor Hopkins and interim education board chairman Philip Butterfield both stressed the urgency of reform.

Professor Hopkins said part of the slowness was down to the time taken for new legislation to get through Parliament, but he added: "I don't think the Ministry as a whole was accepting of the detail of the report.

"I think they could have done more to accelerate progress. It was fairly damning across the board.

"Nobody came out of it looking pretty good. A lot of the comments could be traced back to a rather old-fashioned way of thinking."

Asked if the Ministry now accepted the need to move forward, he replied: "I hope it will. The change has been slow in coming, but we now have a new tier of officers in place."

Mr. Butterfield interjected: "Given the extent of change that we were about to implement, the fact that pace has been slow is understandable.

"The change is systemic. We will have an accountability structure. We are going to see which teachers are performing. It can be disquieting to people.

"But it's part of the human condition to resist change."

Giving his prediction for the state of education in Bermuda in a few years time, Professor Hopkins said: "At or above the level of the US," adding that there was also a more ambitious target to reach the upper quartile of world standards.

To get there, education chiefs will be following a new list of priorities set out by the interim education board, including:

• strengthen and share leadership at all levels in the system;

• clarify what we expect children and young people to learn;

• strengthen the governance of schools through cluster boards;

• improve the quality of learning and teaching in the classroom;

• ensure high standards through greater transparency and accountability;

• maximise the contributions of parents and the community.

Even before that plan was drawn up, some schools have made changes of their own.

Professor Hopkins said: "It's pleasing to see there's been an increase in measured standards in a year. How much the Hopkins Report can claim to have affected that, I don't know.

"There's been a lot of progress in individual schools. It's as if individual schools and principals took some licence to make improvements to their schools."

Mr. Butterfield added: "There's clear evidence we are seeing principals going into the classrooms more."

Both agreed rapid progress is vital, with Professor Hopkins saying some of the Ministry's methods would have been more suitable in the 1960s.

Recalling his impressions from his first visit to the Island last year, Professor Hopkins said: "It was very bad. The first thing I thought is that the standard of learning in Bermudian schools were all below the US average. That's despite the fact it's a very small system and a very highly resourced system.

"We were consistently depriving our children of the education they deserved and the Government wanted.

"The cause for that was quite low level teaching; low level expectations in schools; the system itself wasn't being managed properly.

"It's really important now that the Government and community of Bermuda is sending very, very clear statements to where they want their education system to go. They are sticking by and large to the recommendations in the report."

Mr. Butterfield said the key now was focus and delivery.

"They are two things we have been without for a long period of time," he said.

"We believe nothing is more important for Bermuda. If we don't get it fixed now, it may be beyond our capability to face. I'm enthused by David's viewpoint that we could be performing at that level."

What to expect by 2013

If education reform goes according to plan, this is what bosses say the public can expect in five years' time:

A primary school student in 2013 will leave with:

• international standards in literacy and numeracy;

• a clear induction into Bermudian culture;

• a learning plan based on individual aptitude and need.

A middle school student in 2013 will leave with:

l a range of 'entitlement curriculum' experiences;

• well developed learning skills;

• clear expectation of learning futures based on diagnosis.

A senior school student in 2013 will leave with:

• graduation certificate of global validity;

• blended education experience;

• a personal portfolio suited to their future learning and employment pathway.

A parent in 2013 will have:

• a substantive and meaningful engagement with their child's school and teachers;

• a clear understanding of their child's progress and aptitude;

• confidence and evidence that their child is reaching their full potential.

An educational professional in 2013 will have:

• world class professional skills;

• higher profile and enhanced regard within society;

• a clearer pathway and entitlement for professional advancement.

The business and community in 2013 will have:

• confidence that educational standards have global validity;

• more students being educated in the public sector;

• a more equitable and vibrant community.