Most of you have no doubt read by now read the media coverage of the results of the Department of Basic Education’s 2011 National Annual Assessment. This assessment saw the testing of all learners in public schools in Grades 2 to 7 during February 2011 with a focus on assessing their levels of performance in the preceding years, i.e. Grades 1– 6. In total, almost 6 million learners were tested in both languages and mathematics.

One of the targets to which the education system is working towards is: by 2014, 60% of learners in Grades 3, 6 and 9 should perform at an acceptable level in language and mathematics.

The level of attainment in all grades and in both language and mathematics is very poor and there is little chance that the target for 2014 will be met.

The grading levels are as follows:

• Not achieved – less than 35%
• Partially achieved – 35-50%
• Achieved – 50-70%
• Outstanding – 70%+

Grade 3 results for literacy are:

• Not achieved – 53%
• Partially achieved – 16%
• Achieved – 20%
• Outstanding – 11%

Grade 3 results for numeracy:

• Not achieved – 66%
• Partially achieved – 17%
• Achieved – 12%
• Outstanding – 5%

Grade 6 literacy results:

• Not achieved - 70%
• Partially achieved - 15%
• Achieved - 12%
• Outstanding - 3%

Grade 6 numeracy results:

• Not achieved - 69%
• Partially achieved - 19%
• Achieved - 9%
• Outstanding - 3%

There is a marked correlation in lower levels of performance and the lower (poorer) quintiles within which the schools fall, confirming that the quality of education is inadequate in schools educating the majority of poor children in South Africa.

The report notes that the findings provide concrete information for planning the way forward. Clearly there is a need for urgent implementation, scaling up and improving the quality across all nine provinces of the various policies and programmes developed by the Department of Basic Education over the last couple of years, including universal access to quality Grade R. It must be noted that the scaling up of access to Grade R is merely one of many possible early childhood education interventions that are necessary to address the outcomes we are seeing in the National Assessment Report, least of which is the scale up of: quality centre and non-centre based early childhood education and stimulation programmes; teacher training and development; improved ongoing monitoring of school, educator and learner performance; and improved learning environments where basic infrastructure and safety is assured.

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