Administrators Say Virgin Islands Students Score Below Average until 11th Grade

V.I. Education Department administrators gave testimony on the Virgin Islands’ constant low averages in math and language skills and their efforts to correct the low statistics during Monday’s Committee on Education and Workforce Development meeting.

Virgin Islanders perform well below average in math and reading and only start to catch up when they reach 11th grade, according to education officials. Committee Chair Sen. Marise James disagreed and said, “That is not true” – children don’t perform better above 11th grade.

“We all know that,” James said. Government departments need to collaborate to learn if there is trouble at home – domestic violence, problems with housing or employment to deal with students’ issues, she added.

“The time we look at data from the top down is over. We have to look at data from the ground up,” said Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hendrington.