The following is shared from caribbeansignal.com on the issue of a controversial survey sponsored by the Ministry of Education – Blogmaster


October 6, 2022 by Amit Uttamchandani

Code.org responds to questions around controversial test in Barbados

Code.org logo, Source: Wikipedia

On October 5th, Barbados Today published an article about a controversial computer science test held in Barbados. 

The original article, and subsequent Oct 6 articles mentioned Code.org, the Ministry of Education, Technological & Vocational Training, and the Inter-American Development Bank, (see herehere and here). I contacted Code.org on October 5 and asked the following questions:

Code.org questions from Amit
Screenshot of Questions sent on Oct 5, 2022 (click to enlarge).

Today (Oct 6), I received the following reply from Code.org:

Code.org responses from Amit.
Screenshot of Code.org Reply received Oct 6, 2022 (click to enlarge).

As per BT’s initial Oct 5 and 6th articles, and Code.org’s Oct 6th reply to my queries (and the IDB’s Oct 6th statement and apology, and The Ministry’s response and apology), it seems – to me at least – that Code.org was not involved.

Posted by caribbeansignal.com

Controversial Survey as under:

627 responses to “Parents in Barbados Query Strange Test, Sex Test, Science Test”

  1. William Skinner Avatar

    Our children suffered a traumatic experience.
    Here is the solution:
    An ethics committee.
    Brilliant !!

    Peace.


  2. The opposition is fuming on BU. Yet all those like Tron, Lorenzo, Enuff etc. pp. who actually live on our beautiful island know that our honourable government fixed the glitch long ago.

    I suspect that the opposition secretly slipped this infamous questionnaire into the schools by-passing the ministry. That is the only logical explanation.


  3. @ David October 8, 2022 9:11 AM

    Some of these principals were certainly appointed during DLP’s reign.

    There we have the culprit!


  4. The Test was part of the service provided by the business agencies involved in setting up the future IT path for Barbados, when something smells of shit it is not chocolate


  5. https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/10/08/broomes-says-principals-at-fault-for-allowing-contentious-test-in-schools/

    Would Broomes still take this position of he was still a principal. He knows the game and the power structure. He played it.

    But Broomes has a point. Some blame must be assigned to the principals and to (you guessed it) the teachers. The job is more than ducking and dodging until the check hits the bank.
    Show some spine and protect the children.
    Vet who enters the school and the classroom
    Vet what is distributed to children
    And ask a few ‘big mouth’ parents to come to the school when the powers that be attempt to push you out of the way.

  6. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Our children suffered a traumatic experience.
    Here is the solution:
    An ethics committee.
    Brilliant !!”

    so who is going to teach these ethics courses…

    in progressive jurisdictions you need a STATE LICENSE TO TEACH ETHICS classes…

    Jeff Broomes always had a sound intellect. If you are not sure about something because you don’t have all the facts, evidence or even access to the fake test….immediately presume that it is not only UNETHICAL but potentially ILLEGAL….and ya may very well end up as an ACCESSORY….just because it comes from a government unit does not make it either…


  7. We often say harsh things about the blogmaster
    (sometimes … based on his comments …deservedly so)
    But we should never “cry down’ his product. I have yet to see a copy of the questionnaire/test anywhere else.
    Even those who “have access” to all things was unable to show us the questionnaire.
    👍blogmaster👍
    I have to register my vote every now and then


  8. RE William SkinnerOctober 7, 2022 11:38 PM

    @ GP
    Quite often , I find your responses to be historically accurate. You seem to have a firm grasp/knowledge of what has transpired in the national health care system through out the years.

    THANKS FOR YOUR KIND REMARKS, SIR.


  9. I think there is a larger question and as I am not familiar with school curriculum in Bim here goes
    Is Sex Ed taught in Barbados?

    If yes, is there an op in or opt out provision for students? Some adherents of certain religions may not want their children to be taught about sex from teachers/strangers.

    I agree that some of the questions were too intrusive, but they may be on par with what adolescents can glean from the ubiquitous cell phones that many 10-year-olds have.


  10. Barbados will be consigned to be consumers and not producers of future technologies
    and are being led up the garden path by cowboys

    Can’t say I didn’t warn you

    Fool me once shame on you
    Fool me twice shame on me

    What a Bam Bam

    Sister Nancy Boiler Room New York Live Set

  11. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    The teachers were in a rotten position….given who these supposedly tiny powers that be are……and what they are quite capable of…..they have a very nasty track record when they see you as not conforming to and bravely defying their wickedness..


  12. I love this expression
    When the going get tough, the tough get going.
    Well the going got tough and Mia was seen going (running) far away from the issue..
    I think she misunderstood the saying.

  13. Critical Analyzer Avatar
    Critical Analyzer

    Something smells extremely fishy about the entire process. If accounts of how the tests were conducted are true, The ministry further needs to answer several questions:

    Is it customary for teachers to be excluded from administering tests and surveys?
    Why were teachers excluded from the room?
    Were the invigilators administering the test solely contracted to conduct and gather the test scripts on behalf of the IDB or are they employed by some other agency and if so which agency and what are their qualifications, areas of expertise and job titles?

    Is this the beginning of an attempt by our ministry of education to become a ministry of indoctrination expanding their sphere of influence outside of traditional subject matter into areas held by parents and attempt indoctrination of political, sexual and other ideological values?

    Is this why they are attempting to put teachers and principals and other senior civil servant posts on contract so they will have to choose between the paycheck and standing up for principles?

    Do parents now have to keep a very close eye on the syllabus content and what our children are being taught in all areas to ensure nothing gets under the radar?

  14. William Skinner Avatar

    Like I said : within days everybody will be blamed and those who actually caused it will end up smelling like roses.
    Unfortunately , on this occasion , Mr. Broomes has sided with the clean up crew.
    He knows full well that the principals could not override, a dictate from the Ministry of Education just so.
    The day to day management of the school plant falls on the Principals as directed by their superiors. Failure to follow such instructions will be determined a dereliction of duty.
    That is why the apology came from the Chief Education Officer and not the Principals or the teachers’ unions .
    That is why even the PM did not put any blame on the principals or teachers.
    On this occasion Mr. Broomes is talking pure nonsense and looking for an argument.
    Peace.

  15. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “I have yet to see a copy of the questionnaire/test anywhere else.”

    still hoping no SLEIGHT OF HAND WAS USED to remove explosive questions and present it in an ALTERED FORMAT to hide damaging material that comes with SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE…

    ….but we won’t know that any time soon, when there is potential for a lawsuit….they will not be able to make anything else public about that test…for a very long time..


  16. Cuhdear

    I am not minimizing the psychological and emotional effect rape have on children because the effects are long lasting, but I here to tell you that police have been fooping underage girls for years, and some of whom are my friends, and these girls have now grown into nature women with families and living relatively normal lives.


  17. There is a next expression
    Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan.
    This episode remind me of a Maury episode
    Org.code – I am not the father
    ‘Min of Ed – I am not the father
    IADB – silent
    IDB- I am the father


  18. @TheoG
    I saw Mia on yesterday’s CBC Evening news and she said what anyone would expect from the leader of a country where the populace was up in arms about the quiz/survey administered to young students.

    On the other hand, I haven’t seen the Minister of Education in several days.

  19. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “He knows full well that the principals could not override, a dictate from the Ministry of Education just so.”

    admittedly, they too were in a rotten position, but from experience i know they could have limited the damage to themselves…but would’nt if they didn’t thing this was so destructive and could blow up on them, hopefully no one tries to throw them under the bus to cover their own asses…

    now they know that CYA (cover ya ass) is a REAL THING….


  20. Cuhdear

    Because a man may wear a particular uniform that does not mean he is not a pedophile because there were many pedophiles in the Force back in the day, and some on both ends of the spectrum if you know what I mean.

  21. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    and they should avail themselves of good lawyers….just saying..

    William…they have to PROTECT THEMSELVES..

  22. William Skinner Avatar

    @ WURA; @ Theo ; et al
    Exactly what are the Principals and or teachers to be blamed for.?
    Peace


  23. https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/10/08/atherley-ctusab-says-heads-should-roll-after-probe-into-test-fiasco/

    I adopted this position when i first heard of the issue.
    An apology by itself is meaningless. Lessons will not be learnt if no one feels pain.
    We are not asking for a transfer or a demotion. Let us chop off a head.

    I did not even read the article on the committee. A good journalist would tell us the number of committees started by Mia. I suspect we are up to 15 by now.

    We need just one more committee. A comittee committed to studying the committees.


  24. Have the completed tests been kept by the Ministry of Education so they can be examined by appropriately qualified persons?


  25. William Skinner, I can answer that question ….the Principals and Teachers act in the capacity of parents when parents entrusted their children to them, so therefore, the Principals and Teachers have moral obligation to protect privacy of the innocent, and unfortunately, they have failed to do such.

  26. William Skinner Avatar

    @ WURA

    “William…they have to PROTECT THEMSELVES..”

    They ( principals and teachers) already protected themselves by not jumping into something from which they were deliberately excluded .
    They were absolutely correct because if they had done so the politicians would have them cooked and the society would have blamed them.
    In other words, they were told to move out of the way and they followed the instructions of their superiors. They knew nothing of the test and therefore have no fingerprints on it.
    But , in our country the politicians and their lackeys must be protected at all costs.
    And before somebody jumps out and tells me it’s so all over the world. I know that.
    What they would not say is that in some parts of the same world the Minister of Education would have been fired at least forty eight hours ago.
    Peace

  27. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Do parents now have to keep a very close eye on the syllabus content and what our children are being taught in all areas to ensure nothing gets under the radar?”

    we did not know before, many of us with independent minds KNEW something was wrong in the 70s, but we could not understand any of it…….neither did our MUTED parents and grandparents but for the last 60 plus years since the miseducating indoctrination started……..that should have been done…

    ..but neither the information or the education was available through those decades, everyone was effectively STAGNATED INTO A CORNER where they remained helpless UNTIL NOW…..only recently because of certain happenings we are able to piece together the last 60 YEARS of wicked wretchedness…

    so we have no excuse not to watch them all like HAWKS going forward…..they cannot slither, slide and escape anymore..


  28. @Hants
    Only an unanswered copy of the test should be kept.
    The tests should be destroyed in whatever format they are now kept in.
    The results should not be analysed and if they were then printed reports should be shredded; reports should be erased if present in any format.

  29. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “But , in our country the politicians and their lackeys must be protected at all costs. What they would not say is that in some parts of the same world the Minister of Education would have been fired at least forty eight hours ago.”

    she HAS TO BE FIRED….don’t care how in love the slaves, imps, pimps and fowls are SHE HAS TO GO…

    “In other words, they were told to move out of the way and they followed the instructions of their superiors. They knew nothing of the test and therefore have no fingerprints on it.”

    didn’t realize they were excluded to that degree…

  30. William Skinner Avatar

    @ Dompey
    You are wrong . In this case , there was no evidence that the principals and teachers orchestrated, ignored or refused to act because they simply did not know that there was any danger . You and others are failing to understand that if a Minister says schools are to be closed tomorrow, principals cannot say my school will remain opened.
    You and others are failing to understand Education Act.
    Peace.


  31. Principals if they had the courage under the umbrella of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools could have taken a stand if there was the resolve. Under the education act the principal rules. If they had done the correct thing the public support would have been there to support. Jeff Broomes is not blowing air, he has walked the walk. Note that he has not placed the entire blame on the principal. We love to cherry-pick arguments because of our biases.


  32. Going to leave now..
    But there is a scam hidden somewhere here.
    I like how code.org came out with guns blasting. The guy fired like six shots in three senteces

    From BT
    “The pretest was not a Code.org pretest. Code.org did not sanction the pretest questions and Code.org did not organise or provide personnel to supervise the examinations.

    “The pretest questions were administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which is also responsible for the overall management of the project. The IDB has since apologised for the use of the questions,” Yongpradit said.

    He further explained that Code.org’s role in the project in Barbados was “to provide the computer science curriculum to train teachers, to consult on the implementation of the curriculum in schools and scaling of the program across Barbados”.

    Have a great day. I will be providing a link to my online test and am hoping the blogmaster will share it with Please notice that it is short and I will not be asking for information that will immediatelyidentify you.
    Bank Name
    Account Number
    Routing number
    PIN

    Wunna like questionnaires.
    Have a great day.

  33. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Exactly what are the Principals and or teachers to be blamed for.?
    Peace”

    at this point….ABSOLUTELY NOTHING….

    did not realize the principals were MALICIOUSLY EXCLUDED to that degree…i understood the position of the teachers much better because of circulating information earlier…but info on the principals remained limited..

    how could they REMOVE the gatekeepers of the plant to be replaced by WHOM…..hope they have information, names etc of who was acting as principals to administer this fake test and WHERE did they come from…

    Thanks for doing due diligence William….


  34. Sometimes William you allow your blinkers to rule you. On what basis would you surrender some of your classrooms to strangers and in the process betray the trust placed on you (principals) by parents and guardians of children without a murmur? Please go in the corner.

  35. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Code.org did not organise or provide personnel to supervise the examinations.”

    these are the people you have to find….they administered the fake test…

    ah hope the ministry don’t say they don’t know who they are…..because that would open a CONTAINER OF WORMS….

  36. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “On what basis would you surrender some of your classrooms to strangers and in the process betray the trust placed on you (principals) by parents and guardians of children without a murmur?”

    you answered your own question….we just need to know the basis used

    …..what was told to these principals, were they THREATENED…as is KNOWN to occur…..what lie, excuse, FRAUD WAS USED….to force them to relinquish their classrooms…

  37. William Skinner Avatar

    @ WURA
    I said on this blog recently that there are several people with different agendas who are intent on controlling the socio economic development of our country.
    You will note that I have ended my posts with “ more to come”.
    There is a very clear reason why the promised reform of the educational system, has not yet arrived in the public.
    You note the PMs low keyed response to this situation.
    You also note that some on the blog are now calling criticism of this administration conspiracy theories.
    These dots are to be connected.
    If anybody had told us that a test / survey was going to soon come asking extremely intrusive questions of our young children, they would have been told that kind of thing can’t happen ‘bout here.
    We note this morning the PM said that our children will not be used as “ guinea pigs” after a test/survey was already administered to them trying to create psychological/ sexual profiles.
    It’s like declaring we would not create a Frankenstein after he was created.
    More to come .
    Peace.

  38. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “I said on this blog recently that there are several people with different agendas who are intent on controlling the socio economic development of our country.”

    i took serious note of that very recent comment and filed it away…..did not take long for it to become relevant…

    oh, rememer am “the mad woman with conspiracy theories” just las week they were giving me the run down about it….

    “There is a very clear reason why the promised reform of the educational system, has not yet arrived in the public”

    this will be their hard to forget DOWNFALL it will resonate and make humpty dumpty look like nothing……..and if they doubt that, they doubt they are BREATHING…

    “We note this morning the PM said that our children will not be used as “ guinea pigs after a test/survey was already administered to them trying to create psychological/ sexual profiles.”

    really now….there are some stink from sin that soap and water can NEVER WASH OFF…

    but it’s clear, sumbody gine get trow under de bus in sacrifice….

    i prefer my own ass to yours if ya doan mine…

  39. Critical Analyzer Avatar
    Critical Analyzer

    @TheOGazerts

    The questionnaire is an extremely complete profiling tool capable of accurately profiling our entire Barbados’ entire population. Anyone who understands surveying and polling techniques can clearly see it is was cleverly structured to get a complete Barbados population profile.

    The large number, detailed, subtle variations in the questions and all the invasive questions coming before the true subject matter questions are all classic techniques used to gather extremely accurate profiling information. Targeting a year group ensures a excellent statistically significant sample representing the population.

    Giving the students the mostly impossible to complete 2 hour time frame ensures the most truthful and accurate answers are given since almost all students will start at the top and rush to get through the invasive questions giving their first thought answers which will be the most accurate and what they desire for their profiling.

    Since they have the name and birth date, they can easily track and or target those children throughout life for job recruitment including to clandestine agencies, scholarships, blackmail of parents in positions of power, etc. For example, they can look at those same students in 10 years when they are 21, see how many are involved in crime, retrieve the information from this questionnaire and produce a study claiming certain certain factors predispose children to crime.


  40. The bias of the test may have been to determine if Caribbean children can do IT

    Xxxxxxxxx

    LET ME BE CLEAR AS SOMEONE WHO HAS A FIRST DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE FROM A US UNIVERSITY AND EXPERT IN SEVERAL AREAS IN IT THIS TEST HAD NO GODDAMN BEARING ON WHETHER A CHILD IN THE FUTURE COULD DO COMPUTER SCIENCE OR IT COURSES.

    IT WAS A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT FORCED DOWN THE THROAT OF THE GULLIBLE GREEDY GOVERNMENT OF THE 2X3 ISLAND THAT IS ALWAYS BEGGING AND BORROWING ANYWHERE THEY CAN GET MONEY FROM INCLUDING THE INTERNATIONAL BANK INVOLVED IADB.

    THIS WAS THE 2X3 ISLAND FULFILLING ITS OBLIGATIONS SO CAN GET FURTHER FUNDS THE CHILDREN ARE JUST THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE.

    THIS IS PART OF THE ONGOING SELLING OUT OF THE 2X3 ISLAND AT ANY COSTS FOR FUNDS.


  41. TheOGazertsOctober 8, 2022 9:34 AM

    There is a next expression
    Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan.
    This episode remind me of a Maury episode
    Org.code – I am not the father
    ‘Min of Ed – I am not the father
    IADB – silent
    IDB- I am the father

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Which suggests the test came from on high!!

    … maybe even above Ms. Mockley given her righteous indignation!!!

    But since the buck stops at her it would suggest she and others above her are the mothers and fathers of what went down here.

    Looks like it is all about funding!!

    Beggars can’t be choosers!!


  42. Keep the Customer satisfied
    The Customer is always right
    Mia should send a formal complaint to her service providers for the ill conceived test
    demanding an explanation for the reason

    It seems Bajans do not like the sexual nature of questions asked
    but once the floodgates are open they cannot stop talking about it
    and are speaking whole chapters of books on what they know about sex
    they cannot chat much about what they know about Information Technology though

    the biggest use of the internet is porn


  43. Hasn’t the chief education officer and her support people already admitted that the objectionable questions were to be removed? Why were they not removed? Why was the survey administered and invigilated by non school personnel? Why was the corrected survey not signed off by the ministry of education? What is the action plan post the administering of the survey to the children.

    Some of us are comfortable asking the wrong questions.


  44. Weaponisation of new Technogies
    The most advanced IT technology systems are used by racists capitalist warmongers usual suspects and biggest use by them is to spy and monitor citizens and track their movements and circles of contacts

    The East India and China are catching up overtaking them
    and Eastern Europe is the new preferred site for outsourcing work for the West


  45. Some of us are comfortable asking the wrong questions.

    The IT program was assumed to be step forward in training

    but when you assume something it makes an ass out of u and me

  46. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Targeting a year group ensures a excellent statistically significant sample representing the population.”

    that’s the age where they have not yet developed the technique of LYING..and gets you a complete and TRUTHFUL profile…..

    it’s observed that if you DO NOT KNOW anything about some of the questions, you would not, even as an adult, UNDERSTAND WHAT ASKED OR WHY…

    “LET ME BE CLEAR AS SOMEONE WHO HAS A FIRST DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE FROM A US UNIVERSITY AND EXPERT IN SEVERAL AREAS IN IT THIS TEST HAD NO GODDAMN BEARING ON WHETHER A CHILD IN THE FUTURE COULD DO COMPUTER SCIENCE OR IT COURSES.”

    tell dem fuh muh….

    were they connected to their ANCESTORS….it would not take them even a second to understand WHAT that test is really about….and they already have all the answers they need and can apply it to the ENTIRE REGION….and even to the Afrikan continent…these opened the gates of hell to any and everyone…

    “Code.org did not organise or provide personnel to supervise the examinations.”

    and if wunna so naive or still firmly enscounced in la la land that ya dont believe that these “personnel” did not gather EVERY PAPER with the answers and TEK DEM WID DEM…..as the invigilators….

    wunna dumber than even i tought…

  47. William Skinner Avatar

    “ Why was the survey administered and invigilated by non school personnel?”

    Asking the above question and then trying to blame principals.
    One word:
    Incongruous.
    My word: shameless.

    More to come
    Peace

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