ELEMENTOS CONSIDERADOS EN LA EVALUACIÓN DEL DESEMPEÑO

Since 2011 Annual National Assessments (ANA) have been carried out by the Department of Basic Education [DBE] (2011; 2012; 2013; 2014) to test literacy and numeracy among primary

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school learners. The ANA’s endeavour is focused on the performance of learners from Grades 1- 6, and Grade 9 is the latest in a series of initiatives by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) which is aimed at measuring the learners’ performance and identifying areas for improvement. The ANA are used to test the learners’ skills in both Mathematics and Language. The Grades 1-3 ANA are available in each of the eleven languages, while in Grades 4-6 the ANA are only available in English or Afrikaans. The ANA are administered to learners in public schools, including special schools and state-funded independent primary schools (DBE2012:1). The ANA are aimed at sustaining the government‘s mandate to upgrade education and to demonstrate that measurable delivery is taking place in the basic education sector. The ANA provide valuable evidence on how the various strategies and interventions which the Department has implemented over the last few years are impacting on learner performance. In the primary schools, underperformance is categorized as 50% or more of the Grade 3 and 6 learner population achieving below level 4 (according to the 7 point rating scale) for either the Grade 3 or 6 language section in the Annual National Assessments (ANA), and this is in accordance with Section 58(B) that is read in conjunction with Section 16(A) of the Education Law Amendments Act of 2007.

3.8.3.1 The Annual National Assessments (ANA): 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014

In order to test the reliability of the universal ANA, in 2011 1 667 schools were selected for verification, where stricter test administration procedures were applied for the Grades 3 and 6 ANA in those schools, and all the verification ANA scripts were also remarked by independent assessors. The ANA 2011 (DBE 2011) results gave the Department a measured picture of levels of performance at primary school level in Literacy and Numeracy at the key transitional stages of Grades 3 and 6 for the first time in the country.

The overall results for the ANA 2012 (DBE 2012) in Grades 1 to 6 point towards a general improvement in the performance of the learners in the tests. According to the DBE (2015), the overall performance in the ANA in 2014 shows an upward trend in performance in all the Grades. Overall, the results of the ANA 2014 show that the system is responding to the unrelenting focus on underperformance and inefficiency within the system. In the summary table

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below, the average percentage that the learners achieved in Languages and Mathematics for four consecutive years is indicated.

Table 3.7: Summary of the average percentage marks for Languages and Mathematics in2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, Grades 1-6

Grades Home Language First Additional Language Mathematics

YEARS YEARS YEARS

2011 2012 2013 2014 2011 2012 2013 2014 2011 2012 2013 2014 1 59 58 60 63 63 68 60 68 2 52 55 57 61 55 57 59 62 3 35 52 51 56 28 34 53 56 4 34 43 49 57 34 34 39 41 28 37 37 37 5 30 40 46 57 28 30 37 46.7 28 30 33 37 6 36 43 59 63 28 36 46 45.4 30 27 39 43

Source: Department of Basic Education (2012:3; 2013; 2015)

The above tables indicate a noticeable increase in the performance of the learners in all Grades in both Language and Mathematics. For example, in the Grade 3 Mathematics, the number of learners achieving at least 50% in 2012. According to DBE (2012:3), Grade 6 Mathematics, the number of learners achieving at least 50% decreased from 12% in 2011 to 11% in 2012.The positive achievement of the 2014 learner cohort is also indicated in the number of learners achieving the required competencies in content knowledge for the respective grades. In 2014, a noticeable increase was obtained in both Grades 3 and 6.

Tables 3.8 and 3.9 show the ANA results in the 2011 and 2012 average percentage scores per province.

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Table 3.8:The ANA results in the 2011 average percentage scores per province

Grade 3 Grade 6

Province Literacy Numeracy Languages Mathematics

Eastern Cape 39 35 29 29 Free State 37 26 23 28 Gauteng 35 30 35 37 Kwazulu Natal 39 31 29 32 Limpopo 30 20 21 25 Mpumalanga 27 19 20 25 Northern Cape 28 21 27 28 North West 30 21 22 26 Western Cape 43 36 40 41 National 35 28 28 30

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Table 3.9: The ANA results in 2012 per province average percentage scores

Grade 3 Grade 6

Province Literacy Numeracy Languages Mathematics HL FAL Eastern Cape 50,3 40,5 38,4 36,3 24,9 Free State 56,3 44,7 52,2 37,3 28,4 Gauteng 54,8 46,9 49,3 42,8 30,9 Kwazulu Natal 53,5 42,2 40,9 35,3 28,1 Limpopo 47,9 34,4 28,2 31,7 21,4 Mpumalanga 48,0 35,6 33,4 31,1 23,4 Northern Cape 49,4 37,9 39,0 36,4 23,8 North West 46,4 34,1 33,1 36,1 23,6 Western Cape 57,1 47,4 49,7 38,3 32,7 National 52,0 41,2 42,8 35,6 26,7

Source: Department of Basic Education (2012:29,30,35 & 36)

According to Department of Basic Education (2012:1), in spite of an improvement in the achievement of learning outcomes in most grades in 2012, the Department still has to realize the desired 60% threshold of learners mastering the minimum in Language and Mathematics competencies by the end of Grades 3, 6 and 9.

3.8.3.2 The Annual National Assessments (ANA):2014, compared to the 2012 and 2013 results

During September 2014, more than 7.3 million learners in Grades 1-6 and Grade 9 wrote the national assessment tests in numeracy and literacy. The 2014 ANA results are a significant milestone in basic education in more than one sense: firstly, this is the first ANA that involves the entire GET Band (Grades 1–9), although Grades 7 and 8 were a pilot project, based on the strengthened Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Provincial trends in the

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ANA in 2011 and 2012 indicated significant strides in the Foundation and Intermediate Phases in Languages and Mathematics. In 2014 the overall results for the ANA in Grades 1 to 6 points towards an upward movement of the test scores, while in Grade 9 Mathematics, the performance of the learners has remained at a low level, as was the case in 2012 and 2013. Similarly, since2012 an analysis of the provincial trends in the ANA indicates improvements in the Foundation and Intermediate Phases in both Languages and Mathematics (DBE 2014).

In the tables below (Tables 3.10 and 3.11), the average national percentages that the learners achieved in Mathematics and Language are indicated.