Grade Seven Exams

In Zambian schools, in order for children to pass grade seven and move on to grade eight they are required to pass a standardized government examination. Being the first (and in some unfortunate cases, the last) big test these kids ever have to take, it’s a big deal.

For the children attending the Namumu Community School, passing means they get to attend grade eight at Siavonga Basic School, located in the main township, a 40-or-so minute walk away. They get to wear sharp new uniforms, different from the ones the children in grades one through seven wear. There’s clearly a certain status attached to moving on up to the Basic School in town.

Those who don’t pass must remain in grade seven for another year and then take the exam again.

Namumu had 19 of its resident children take the exam. Overall they did very, very well. Two, in fact, Christopher and Brenda, did so well that they were accepted into local boarding schools, a significant achievement.

Unfortunately, one of our girls didn’t pass and will be forced to repeat grade seven. Victoria (not her real name...I don’t think this girl would be happy about me throwing her name around and telling everyone she failed), a very sweet, slightly goofy 13 year old, just missed the cut off.

As you can imagine, it’s been a rough week for Victoria. It’s been obvious that she’s embarrassed, and to make matters worse all of her friends passed and are moving on. She’s bounced back over the past few days, but I have a feeling it will take her a while to fully get over her disappointment. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Still, while it’s unfortunate that Namumu’s children did not all make it through, 18 out of 19 ain’t too shabby. The others scored remarkably high. I would argue that this is further evidence of the advantages our kids have by staying here. They have stable adult influences in their lives that guide them and encourage them to work hard, and the test scores reflect that.

Just another reason why Namumu is so awesome...