Developing a Multidimensional Mathematical Framework for Assessing Secondary-School Performance in Jamaica: Conceptualisation, Operationalisation, Measurement and Validation of the Jamaica Multidimensional Secondary-School Performance and Quality Index (J-MSSPQI)

Abstract

Assessment of secondary-school performance in Jamaica has traditionally placed considerable emphasis on students' outcomes in external examinations such as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and the Ministry of Education publishes external examination performance reports to support decision-making. However, an average examination result primarily represents attained academic performance at one point in time and cannot, by itself, determine how much learning a school generated, whether progress was equitably distributed, whether students remained engaged in schooling, whether they completed secondary education, or whether the institutional environment supported their academic and personal development. International research increasingly conceptualises school performance as multidimensional and distinguishes attainment from growth, graduation, attendance, discipline, equity, school climate, teaching quality and institutional effectiveness (OECD, 2008; Sun et al., 2020). Jamaica's National Education Inspectorate similarly recognises multiple dimensions of school quality, including leadership and management, teaching, student progress, student performance, personal and social development, resource use, and safety, security, health and well-being, demonstrating that a broader conceptualisation is already compatible with the country's educational quality-assurance architecture (Ministry of Education, Youth and Information [MOEYI], 2018). This conceptual and methodological paper proposes the Jamaican Multidimensional Secondary School Performance and Quality Framework (J-MSSPQF), which integrates academic attainment, student growth/value added, educational equity, attendance and engagement, progression and completion, post-secondary readiness, student well-being and school climate, and institutional quality in a mathematically explicit assessment architecture. The framework provides student-, school- and regional-level measures, standardises indicators to comparable scales, assigns transparent weights, incorporates minimum-domain safeguards and measurement uncertainty, and is intended to complement rather than replace external examination results, school inspection and professional educational judgement.