Bermuda’s public primary schools fell below international averages in the results of the most recent Cambridge Primary Checkpoint results.

The figures, which date back to May of 2015, show Bermuda lagging behind in English, math and science compared to other schools with the Cambridge curriculum.

Bermudian schools scored an average of 3.3 out of 6 for both English and science, along with 2.4 in mathematics. Cambridge averages for the respective subjects were 3.7, 4.2 and 3.8

Scores between 2 and 3 are deemed “OK”, while scores between 3 and 4 are classified as “good”.

The scores mark a year-on-year decrease in all three subjects, however the international average Cambridge score fell slightly this year in both English and science.

Results for 18 individual primary schools were placed on the Ministry’s website yesterday.

Just one school — St David’s Primary — managed to exceed the international Cambridge averages in all three subjects. While the school topped the others listed in both English and science, Dalton E Tucker claimed the highest score for mathematics.

On the other side of the spectrum Victor Scott Primary scored the lowest in both science and math, while West End Primary received the lowest scores in English.

Math scores were the most problematic, with a third of the listed schools scoring below 2 out of 6 in the subject — performance labelled as “poor”.

A statement from the Department of Education said: “The Cambridge Primary Checkpoint results are diagnostic in that they give schools an international benchmark of student performance which identifies specific learning needs in the core subjects.”

The Cambridge Primary Checkpoint results are designed for education systems to use in the final year of primary school education.

Freddie Evans, the acting commissioner of education, said the checkpoint results were shared with primary school leaders to help facilitate discussions and evaluate performance.

“Students and their parents receive a comprehensive feedback form per subject on how well students performed individually and in comparison to the rest of their class peers, and all students in the system at the primary school level,” Dr Evans said.

“It is important to understand that the results of Cambridge Primary Checkpoint tests are purely diagnostic in nature and not appropriate to use in silo as a ranking tool for assessing school success or school achievement.

“In this regard, all primary public schools should be looked at in their entirety by taking other associated factors into consideration as many P6 classes vary in both size and composition as it relates to student complexities at the different primary schools.”

He added that the results were intended to help highlight areas of success and where improvements need to be made so that schools can review their strategies for the next class of students.

“Checkpoint is an innovative diagnostic test used as a valuable tool by schools as it provides feedback on student’s strengths and weaknesses in key subject areas,” he said. “More importantly, parents have a transferable academic record of their child’s progress as they transition through the system from primary to senior school level.”

Checkpoints do not include passes or fails. Instead, each subject is assigned a score range of zero to six and the higher the score, the greater the level of readiness as the student transitions to the senior level to sit their IGCSE exam.