Educational officials are reveling in the successful performance of the students who sat the recently concluded Grade Six National Assessment.

One thousand, three hundred and eighteen students sat the examination in the four core subject areas on June 7 and 8 this year.

Sophia Aflak of the St Nicholas Primary School is this year’s top student, scoring 379 out of 400 points. Aflak was followed by students of the Baptist Academy of Antigua, Matthew Dorsett, scoring 376 points, and Etanya Tanner, scoring 374.

The top government school student was Cahira Gerald of the Golden Grove Primary School, scoring 371 of 400 points and placing seventh in the top 100 list.

Over 90 percent of the students who took the exam achieved a satisfactory pass. For the first time in recent years, male students were ranked as high as their female counterparts

The students are graded in levels based on performance; Levels 1 to 4 with level one being the highest.

According to Ineta Francis, head of the Measurement and Evaluation Unit within the Ministry of Education, 379 females, 336 males, or 715 students were ranked at the Grade I Level.

Level 2 saw 230 females, and 259 males a total of 439 students have ranked again based on their performances.

“At level 3 we have 103 students 40 of those were females 63 males, 8 percent, and at Level 4 we have 11 students in total 3 of them were females and 8 were males,” Francis said.

As it relates to the male-to-female ratio she later explained that of the 562 females who sat the exams, 58 percent achieved scores at Level 1, 35 percent at Level 2, 6 percent at Level 3, and 1 percent at Level 4.

For boys on the other hand, 50 percent were ranked at Level 1, 39 percent at Level 2, 10 percent at Level 3, and 1 percent at Level 4.

“Last year 41 percent of the male were ranked at Level 1, that has increased to 50 percent this year. At Level 2 there were also 41 percent, this year it is 39. At Level 3 last year 16 percent of the males were at that level, this year 10 percent. Last year at Level 4 there were 2 percent of our males, this year one percent,”

“This year for the males 666 of them, 89 percent would have received commendable grades and would have achieved acceptable scores and I think that is commendable, so let me commend the principals, the teachers, and the parents who would have supported our males throughout their academic journey thus far, especially at grade 6.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Daryll Mathew said educators, parents, and children ought to be commended for their hard work.

“These students were part of a cohort of students who lived through 2 and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mathew said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Director of Education Clare Browne.

“I commend our students, I congratulate our various schools across the nation and their parents”, Browne said.