EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OPTING OUT ONCE AGAIN
Introduction
Given last year’s protracted mid-year public-sector strike, it came as no surprise that 2007 year recorded the lowest matric pass rate in five years, with only 66.5% of learners who wrote the exams passing.
While this poor performance was predicted by many, what was surprising was yesterday’s announcement by the education department that it is considering putting a stop to the publishing of matric results in newspapers and on the internet.
The announcement has drawn mixed reaction from different groups. Some welcomed the decision to only release the results through schools while others argued that this would effectively prevent the department from being evaluated on its performance during the year.
The point that needs to be made here is that this is not the first time the Department of Education has taken steps to prevent its dismal performance from being publicly scrutinised.
A prime example of this was the department’s decision not to take part in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) during 2007.
Opting out of Timss
Timss is an international study of maths and science literacy amongst 14-year olds.
In both 1999 and 2003 South Africa came last out of the 50 countries surveyed. The scores show that in both years South Africa’s average scores on maths and science were little more than half the international average. Furthermore the country’s maths average worsened over the four years, while its science average improved by only one point.
In April 2007, shortly before the next Timss round, the education department announced that South Africa would not be participating. However, it denied that this decision was due to the country’s past dismal performance but purely for education reasons, arguing that the test should only be administered again in 2011 after the department’s science and maths interventions had had an impact.
At the time, education department spokesperson Palesa Tobyeka announced that it was “almost definite” South Africa would take part in the 2011 round.
Last November the Democratic Alliance posed the following question to the department:
“In light of the department deciding South Africa should not participate in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (Timss) in 2007 after being placed last out of 50 countries in 2003; and department official Palesa Tyobeka stating that it was “almost definite” that South Africa would participate again in 2011 after the department’s interventions to improve math’s and science education have had an impact; (a) what are these interventions; (b) whether the department has developed its own tests to evaluate the success of these interventions; if not, why not; if so, (i) what are the relevant details and (ii) the outcomes of the tests; (c) whether her department will guarantee that South Africa will definitely participate in Timss in 2011?”
The department replied by listing some of its interventions and stated that it had developed its own testing and methods to evaluate the success of these interventions. However, it acknowledged that an external verification of all the internal evaluations was needed, meaning that the outcomes of these internal evaluations were not made public.
It further replied that the decision to participate in Timss in 2011 would be taken by the Minister at the time but argued that South Africa did take part in other studies such as the Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
PIRLS is an international study that does not test science and maths literacy but rather reading literacy. Notably, the 2006 Study indicated that more than three quarters of South African Grade 5 pupils have not developed the basic reading skills required for learning.
While SACMEQ does test maths literacy, only 15 countries from
| Posted on 8/1/2008
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