Senior Multimedia Reporter
As the Government moves to introduce a Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) for primary school students, an autism advocate is urging education officials to ensure the new system is designed to accommodate children with autism and other learning disabilities.
Founder of Support Autism T&T, Dr Radica Mahase, said while she supports efforts to move away from exclusive reliance on the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA), the reforms must address long-standing inequities faced by neurodivergent learners.
“Every year around, this discussion on SEA comes up, and I say, without a doubt, the SEA exam needs to be revisited and restructured,” Mahase said.
“I mean, in its present form, neurotypical children struggle with this exam, much less students with autism and other learning disabilities. And I am not only referring to the stress brought about by this exam. I am talking about the structure of the exam itself.”
Her comments come as Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath confirmed that the Ministry of Education has finalised plans to roll out the CAC from the new school term as part of a phased reform of the primary school assessment system.
The Ministry said the new framework is intended to reduce the high-stakes pressure associated with the SEA by spreading assessment across multiple years, rather than determining secondary school placement based on a single examination. Officials said the approach is expected to provide a broader picture of student performance, consistency and progress, while reducing anxiety linked to one-off testing.
The CAC will also be supported by expanded school Wi-Fi infrastructure and AI-enabled learning tools, including a SEA Mathematics Past Paper platform designed to assist teachers and students in tracking progress.
However, Mahase said the reform presents an opportunity to build a more inclusive education system.
“This is an exam which certainly does not cater to the needs of children who learn differently. Imagine every student is expected to complete the same curriculum at the same time and pace and then write the same exam. This is why so many autistic children are forced to drop out of school, because they just cannot keep up, especially when they don’t get adequate support.”
Mahase argued that the current SEA framework is “not flexible and fair enough for all types of learners,” adding that continuous assessment could provide a more accurate reflection of student ability.
“I believe that bringing back continuous assessment will help. It will give a more balanced picture of the child’s abilities. And for autistic students and those with other learning disabilities, this is especially important.”
She said many autistic students understand academic material but struggle under traditional exam conditions.
“While some children struggle with written exams, reading, writing or processing information quickly, the continuous assessment will give them a chance to show what they know over time and in different ways,” she said. “Many autistic children, for example, might not do well in a written exam. But those same children may do well when they are assessed in smaller assignments or through different types of assessments.”
