Sammendrag
i. Abstract
The Secondary Entrance Assessment in Trinidad is a high stakes placement exam which has its
roots in the colonial period. It was adopted from England in 1961 as a short-term measure, yet is
endures to the present. This thesis uses post-colonial theory, which places Trinidad’s historical
development in general and its education system in particular in a global perspective and posits that
a grand epochal change did not occur with the acquisition of independence. Rather the continuities
and discontinuities of colonial patterns are explored and shown to be symbolized and facilitated by
education and more specifically, the SEA. The contradictory combination of colonial racial
ideology and post-colonial ambitions to eradicate it, is contained in this exam. Moreover, as the
SEA still carries colonial meanings, it acts as an inhibitor to the state from realizing its own goals
regarding the development of education.