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South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996)

National Policy on Assessment and Qualifications for Schools in the General Education and Training Band

Part 2 : Assessment in the GET Band

 

6) The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) forms the foundation for ongoing curriculum development, delivery and assessment in South African schools. It states that the performance of learners should be measured against the Assessment Standards of the Learning Outcomes in a grade.

 

7) Assessment is a continuous planned process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about the performance of learners. It involves four steps: generating and collecting evidence of achievement, evaluating this evidence against the outcomes, recording the findings of this evaluation, and using this information to understand and thereby assist the learner's development and improve the process of learning and teaching.

 

8) Assessment should
a) be authentic, continuous, multi-dimensional, varied and balanced;
b) take into consideration the diverse needs of learners and the context. Various assessment strategies should therefore be used;
c) be used as an on-going integral part of the learning and teaching process. This means that assessment should be used to inform and evaluate teaching and learning;
d) be accurate, objective, valid, fair, manageable and time-efficient;
e) take many forms, gather information from several contexts, and include a range of competencies and uses;
f) be free from bias and sensitive to gender, race, cultural background and abilities;
g) in the main, be criterion-referenced; and
h) be transparent so that learners and teachers have a clear understanding of what the expectations are for any assessment task and what knowledge, skills, values and attitudes are being assessed.

 

9) Assessment can be both formal and informal. Formal assessment provides teachers with a systematic way of evaluating how well learners are progressing in a grade and in a particular Learning Programme/ Learning Area. Formal assessment should be recorded. These formal assessment tasks may focus on an integration of Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards, but could, for enrichment or re-inforcement purposes, be focussed on a particular Learning Outcome and its Assessment Standard(s). Examples of formal assessments include projects, oral presentations, demonstrations, performances, tests, examinations, practical demonstrations, etc.

 

10) Informal or daily assessment is the monitoring of learners' progress. This is done through observations, discussions, learner-teacher conferences, informal classroom interactions, etc.

Informal assessment may be as simple as stopping during the lesson to observe learners or to discuss with the learners how learning is progressing. Informal or daily assessment should be used to provide feedback to the learners and to improve teaching, and need not be recorded.

 

11) Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning and should be planned for when developing Learning Programmes, work schedules and lesson plans. However, while teaching, learning and assessment are intertwined, it should be recognised that not everything that is taught should be assessed formally and not everything that is assessed need be recorded.

 

12) The National Curriculum Statement for Grades R - 9 requires the use of a variety of appropriate assessment strategies that adequately assess learner achievement and develop skills for lifelong learning. The strateges and forms of assessment used should be appropriate for the knowledge, skills, or attitudes and the range of competencies being assessed as well as for the age and developmental needs of the learners. These assessment tasks should be carefully designed to cover the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards of the Learning Programme/Learning Area. These tasks should therefore be designed in such a way as to ensure that a variety of skills are assessed.

 

13) Assessment should be used to:
• determine whether the learning required for the achievement of the Learning Outcomes is taking place and whether any difficulties are being encountered;
• report to parents and other role-players and stakeholders on the levels of achievement across a range of competencies acquired during the learning process and to build a profile of the learner‘s achievement across the curriculum;
• provide information for the evaluation and review of Learning Programmes used in the classroom;
• maximise learners’ access to the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes defined in the national curriculum policy;
• assist with the early identification of learners who might experience barriers to learning and development as well as to provide them with learning support;
• determine the progression of each learner through the acquisition of knowledge and a range of competencies;
• support the development of all learners; and
• make judgements about learners’ progress.

 

14) Teachers have the overall responsibility to assess the progress of learners in achieving the expected outcomes, and the national and provincial departments of education are accountable for the management of the assessment programmes.

 

15) It is important that learners who might experience barriers to learning and development are identified early, assessed, and provided with learning support. All assessment tasks should therefore be adapted to accommodate these learning needs.

 

16) The assessment of learners and decisions made about a learner experiencing barriers to learning should involve a partnership between teachers, learners, parents, and education support services (ESS) such as occupational and speech therapists and educational psychologists.

 

17) Assessment instruments and procedures must be appropriate to the intensity and the nature of the support needed by a learner. The result of such assessment should be used to develop support programmes. Such programmes, which need to address barriers uncovered during the assessment process, will have to be coordinated by the District-Based Support Team, and should be used by the Institution-Level Support Team and the teachers to ensure that the learner accesses the curriculum.

 

18) The process of assessing all learners (including disabled, gifted and talented learners) should follow the principles outlined in this policy and in Education White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education, 2001.

 

19) For learners with special educational needs the principle of inclusion should be applied, using special conditions such as the adaptation of the assessment task, adjustment of time allocated for an assessment task, individualised assessment techniques and strategies, and providing expanded opportunities.

 

20) Planning for assessment is an integral part of the planning for teaching and learning. The assessment programme is planned by the teacher to meet the needs of learners in the classroom and to facilitate teaching and learning. Each assessment programme contributes to the compilation of an assessment plan of a school.

 

21) The assessment process, strategies and forms, and the decision about which assessment tasks are to be recorded, form part of the planning of the Learning Programme, Work Schedule and Lesson Plan.

 

Continuous Assessment

 

22) Continuous assessment (CASS) is an assessment model that encourages the integration of assessment into the teaching and development of learners through ongoing feedback. It is a model of assessment that is used to determine a learner’s achievement during the course of a grade, provide information that is used to support the learner’s development, and enable improvements to be made to the learning and teaching process.

 

23) CASS in grades R - 8 will comprise 100% of the assessment programme.

 

24) CASS will comprise 75% of the total assessment programme in Grade 9.

 

25) In the main, these CASS results will be collated from the recorded tasks.

 

External Assessment

 

(*This paragraph repealed by Notice No. 349 in Government Gazette No. 33160 dated 6 May 2010)

 

26) Provincial Education Departments could use the 25% external assessment component of the total marks allocated to Grade 9 in the end-of-year assessment to devise an assessment component to replace the Common Tasks of Assessment (CTAs).

 

27) The Common Tasks for Assessment in all Learning Areas should consist of both performance based tasks and a pen-and-paper task. The performance-based tasks should be designed in such a way that they are completed or administered over a period of time, and not as a once-off event, whilst the pen-and-paper task should be administered under controlled conditions following a national timetable.

 

Recording And Reporting Learner Achievement

 

28) Recording is a process in which the teacher documents the level of a learner’s performance in a specific assessment task and indicates learner progress towards the achievement of the Learning Outcomes prescribed in the National Curriculum Statement. Records of learner performance should provide evidence of the learner’s conceptual progression within a grade and her/ his readiness to progress to the next grade. Records of learner performance should also be used to verify the progress made by teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process. Records should be used to monitor learning and to plan ahead.

 

29) Learning Outcomes (LOs) and Assessment Standards should be used to plan formal assessment tasks and should inform the recording and reporting of learner performance in those assessment tasks. The formal assessment tasks assessed should be indicated on the Record Sheet.

 

30) To support continuous assessment, the recording of learner performance must be planned, regular and cumulative. The purpose of recording and reporting is to provide an indication of how far a learner’s performance in a grade is compliant with the levels of performance spelt out in the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards in the NCS.

 

31) Reporting is a process of communicating learner performance to learners, parents, schools, and other stakeholders such as employers, tertiary institutions, etc. Learner performance can be reported in a number of ways. These include report cards, parents’ meetings, school visitation days, parent-teacher conferences, phone calls, letters, class or school newsletters, etc.

 

32) Reporting has a developmental purpose. It provides learners with regular feedback on their achievement, .informs parent(s)/guardian(s) of the progress of the individual learner, and gives the system information about learner performance.

 

33) The language in which recording and reporting is done should be in accordance with the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT). In the case of dual medium schools, the languages used as LoLT should be utilised on a rotational basis, while the language of recording should be any of the languages used for learning and teaching.

 

34) Reporting to parents should take place at least once a term, using a formal report card.

 

Principles for recording and reporting

 

35) The following principles underpin the approach to both recording and reporting:
a) Learning Outcomes (LOs) and Assessment Standards (ASs) should be used to inform the planning and development of assessment tasks. However, the recording and reporting of learner performance take place against the assessment task and not the Learning Outcomes.
b) Teachers should show in their portfolios that they have covered all Learning Outcomes in the formal assessment tasks set.
c) National codes together with either descriptors or percentages and comments can be used for recording and reporting purposes. In cases where marks are used, these should be converted into percentages. Comments can be used to qualify the ratings.

 

The following is applicable to recording and reporting per phase:

• Foundation Phase (Grades R - 3): Record and report in national codes and their descriptors.
• Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6): Record and report in national codes together with their descriptors or percentages.
• Senior Phase (Grades 7 - 8): Record and report in national codes together with their descriptors or percentages.
• Senior Phase (Grade 9): Record and report in national codes and percentages.

 

Descriptors can be used in addition to these.

 

d) The schedule and the report card should indicate the overall level of performance of a learner.
e) In the case of Languages or the Literacy Learning Programme, each language that the learner offers should be recorded and reported on separately according to the different levels at which they are offered, for example, Home Language - English, First Additional Language - isixhosa, Second Additional Language - Afrikaans.
f) The number of formal assessment tasks to be recorded in each phase is provided in paragraphs 39, 43 and 46.
g) The recorded pieces of evidence should reflect a variety of forms of assessment. More information on this is provided in the Assessment Guidelines.
h) Teachers must report regularly to learners and parents on the progress of learners. Schools are required to provide feedback to parents on the programme of assessment, using a formal reporting tool such as a report card. In addition to the report cards, other reporting mechanisms such as parents’ meetings, school visitation days, parent-teacher conferences, phone calls, letters, class or school newsletters, etc. may be used. The school will determine the format of these reporting strategies.

 

FOUNDATION PHASE (Grades R - 3)

 

Assessment in the Foundation Phase (Grades R - 3)

 

36) Assessment of learner performance in Grades R - 3 in the three Learning Programmes should mainly focus on the Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Standards defined in the Languages, Mathematics and Life Orientation Learning Areas. The learner’s level of competence in the Natural Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Economic & Management Sciences and Arts & Culture Learning Areas should be planned for, taught and assessed in an integrated manner within the three Learning Programmes offered in this phase.

 

Recording and reporting in Grades R - 3

 

37) The national codes and their descriptors provided in Table 1 should be used for recording and reporting learner performance in the Foundation Phase (Grades R - 3). Comments should be used to qualify learner performance.

 

Table 1 : Codes and descriptors for recording and reporting in Grades R - 3

 

RATING CODE

DESCRIPTION OF COMPETENCE

4

Outstanding/Excellent Achievement

3

Satisfactory Achievement

2

Partial Achievement

1

Not Achieved

 

38) In the Foundation Phase, the recording and reporting of learner performance should take place based on the three Learning Programmes offered, that is Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills. In cases where more than one language is offered, this should be recorded and reported on separately.

 

Recorded formal assessment tasks for Grades R - 3

 

39) The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grades R - 3 have been set out in Table 2 below. The table also indicates the number of assessment tasks per Learning Programme required in the Foundation Phase.

 

Table 2 : Number of Formal Recorded Assessment Tasks for Grades R - 3

 

LEARNING

PROGRAMME

TERM 1

TERM 2

TERM 3

TERM 4

TOTAL

Literacy (Languages)

4

4

4

4

16

Additional Language

(optional in Grade 1

& 2)

2

2

2

2

8

Numeracy

(Mathematics)

3

3

3

3

12

Life Skills

(Life Orientation)

1

1

1

1

4

 

INTERMEDIATE PHASE (Grades 4 - 6)

 

Assessment in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6)

 

40) In the Intermediate Phase, the assessment of learner performance should focus on the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards of each of the eight Learning Areas. These are the Languages, Mathematics, Life Orientation, Natural Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Economic & Management Sciences, and Arts & Culture Learning Areas.

 

Recording and Reporting in Grade 4-6

 

41) The national codes, together with either percentages or descriptors as provided in Table 3, should be used for recording and reporting learner performance in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6). Comments should be used to qualify learner performance.

 

TabIe 3 : Codes and percentages for recording and reporting in Grades 4 - 6

 

RATING

CODE

DESCRIPTION OF

COMPETENCE

PERCENTAGES

4

Outstanding/Excellent Achievement

70 - 100

3

Satisfactory Achievement

50 - 69

2

Partial Achievement

35 - 49

1

Not Achieved

1 - 34

 

 

42) In the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6), the recording and reporting of learner performance in the formal assessment tasks should be against the eight Learning Areas prescribed in the National Curriculum Statement for Grades R - 9.

 

Recorded formal assessment tasks for Grades 4 - 6

 

43) The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grades 4 - 6 have been set out in Table 4.

The table also indicates the number of recordings per Learning Area required in the Intermediate Phase. Teachers should note that the Programme of Assessment should be integrated in the development of the Learning Programme, Work Schedule and Lesson Plan.

 

Table 4 : Number of Formal Recorded Assessment Tasks for Grades 4 - 6

 

LEARNING AREA

TERM 1

TERM 2

TERM 3

TERM 4

TOTAL

Language 1

2

2

2

2

8

Language 2

2

2

2

2

8

Language 3 (optional)

1

1

1

1

4

Mathematics

2

2

2

2

8

Natural Sciences

1

2

1

2

6

Social Sciences

1

2

1

2

6

Technology

1

1

1

1

4

Economic and Management Sciences

1

1

1

1

4

Life Orientation

1

1

1

1

4

Arts and Culture

1

1

1

1

4

 

SENIOR PHASE

 

Assessment in the Senior Phase (Grades 7 - 9)

 

44) In the Senior Phase, the assessment of learner performance should focus on the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards of each of the eight Learning Areas. These are the Languages, Mathematics, Life Orientation, Natural Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Economic & Management Sciences and Arts & Culture Learning Areas.

 

Recording and Reporting in Grades 7 - 9

 

45) The national codes, together with either the descriptors or the percentages provided in Table 5, should be used for recording and reporting learner performance in Grades 7 - 9. Comments should be used to qualify learner performance.

 

Table 5 : Codes and percentages for recording and reporting in Grades 7 – 9

 

RATING CODE

DESCRIPTION OF COMPETENCE

PERCENTAGE

7

Outstanding achievement

80 - 100

6

Meritorious achievement

70 -79

5

Substantial achievement

60 - 69

4

Adequate achievement

50 - 59

3

Moderate achievement

40 - 49

2

Elementary achievement

30 - 39

1

Not achieved

0 - 29

 

Recorded formal assessment tasks for Grades 7 and 8

 

46) The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grades 7 and 8 have been set out in Table 6 below, which gives the number of recordings per Learning Area required in the two grades. Teachers should note that the Programme of Assessment should be integrated in the development of the Learning Programme, Work Schedule and Lesson Plan.

 

Table 6 : Number of Formal Recorded Assessment Tasks for Grades 7 - 8

 

LEARNING AREA

TERM 1

TERM 2

TERM 3

TERM 4

TOTAL

Language 1

3

2

3

2

10

Language 2

2

2

2

2

8

Language 3 (optional)

2

1

2

1

6

Mathematics

3

3

3

3

12

Natural Sciences

2

2

2

2

8

Social Sciences

2

2

2

2

8

Technology

1

1

1

1

4

Economic and Management Sciences

1

1

1

1

4

Life Orientation

1

1

1

1

4

Arts and Culture

1

1

1

1

4

 

 

Recorded formal assessment tasks for Grade 9

 

47) In Grade 9 the internal Programme of Assessment constitutes 75% of a learner’s final result, and evidence of learners’ work in these tasks should be easy to locate for moderation purposes. The external Common Tasks for Assessment (CTA) in Grade 9 count 25% of the final assessment and constitute the assessment tasks for term 4.

 

48) The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grade 9 have been set out in Table 7 below, which gives the number of recordings per Learning Area required in the grade.

 

Table 7 : Number of Formal Recorded Assessment Tasks for Grade 9

 

LEARNING AREA

TERM 1

TERM 2

TERM 3

TERM 4

TOTAL

Language 1

3

2

3

 

 

 

C

T

A

8

Language 2

2

2

2

6

Language 3 (optional)

2

1

2

5

Mathematics

3

3

3

9

Natural Sciences

2

2

2

6

Social Sciences

2

2

2

6

Technology

1

1

1

3

Economic and Management Sciences

1

1

1

3

Life Orientation

1

1

1

3

Arts and Culture

1

1

1

3

 

 

49) In Grades 7 - 9 the recording and reporting of learner performance in the formal assessment tasks should be against the Learning Areas prescribed in the National Curriculum Statement for Grades R - 9.

 

TEACHERS’ PORTFOLIOS

 

50) All teachers are expected to keep a portfolio containing all documents related to assessment. It is the teachers’ responsibility to ensure that the information in their assessment portfolios is kept up to date.

 

51) A teacher’s portfolio may be a file, a folder, a box, or any other suitable storage system.

 

52) Teachers’ portfolios should contain the tasks for assessment as well as the planning that informs the development of these tasks and the records of assessment of the formal tasks.

 

53) Teachers should, as part of their planning, provide an indication of the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards assessed in each task.

 

54) The formally recorded assessment tasks should be clearly marked or indicated in teachers’ portfolios. Stickers, coloured paper, etc. may be used for this purpose.

 

55) Teachers’ portfolios should be available on request at all times for moderation and accountability purposes.

 

MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOL ASSESSMENT RECORDS

 

56) The assessment records that should be completed and kept at school are record sheets, schedules, teacher portfolios and learner profiles. The management, maintenance and safeguarding of the learner profiles, schedules and report cards is the responsibility of school management. The management and maintenance of the record sheets and teacher portfolios is the responsibility of every teacher.

 

Record Sheets

 

57) Teachers are expected to keep an efficient and current record of learners’ progress. It is expected that carefully compiled records and/or evidence of learner performance be maintained to justify the final rating a learner receives at the end of the year. Teachers are expected to keep current records of learners’ progress electronically or in files/books/folders or any other form the school has agreed on. These record sheets must at least have the following information (See an example of a record sheet in Annexure A):
• Learning Programme/ Learning Area / Subject
• Grade and class
• Learners’ names
• Dates of assessment
• Names of the formal assessment tasks
• The results of formal assessment tasks
• Comments for support purposes when and where appropriate.

 

58) The record sheets should be used to compile a schedule that will in turn be used to compile reports once a term.

 

Schedules

 

59) A schedule is a quarterly record that provides a summary of the progress of all learners in a specific grade in a school. The school may store this information manually or electronically. The progression / promotion schedule is completed at the end of the year and is a compilation of learner performance across all four school terms. Schools should submit copies of the progression / promotion schedules to the district office for archiving.

 

60) Schedules should be completed four times a year, i.e at the end of each school term.

 

61) A progression or promotion schedule should include the following information (see an example of a schedule in Annexure B):
• Name of the school and school stamp
• Date
• List of names and surnames of learners in each grade or class
• Admission number of each learner
• Date of birth of each learner
• Gender of each learner
• Age of each learner
• Number of years in a phase
• National codes and percentages that indicate the performance of learners in each Learning Programme /Leaning Area
• Signature of teacher, principal and district official (required for the end-of-the-year schedule only)
• At the end of the year, the schedule for Grades R - 8 should indicate whether the learners are ready to progress to the next grade or not. Schools should use (RP) to indicate that a learner is ready to progress to the next grade or (NRP) to indicate that the learner is not ready to progress. For Grades 9, the end-of-year schedule should indicate whether the learner is promoted to the next grade or not by using (P) for promoted and (NP) for not promoted.

 

62) The progression / promotion schedule must be signed by the principal and a district official. This then constitutes a legal document, which should be kept at the school in a file or box or electronically as part of the school archives for at least five years.

 

63) A schedule should be used for drawing up reports and for reporting to parents and the education system on the overall progress of the learners in each grade. This means that a schedule should be completed for each grade.

 

64) The Department of Education will develop the schedule forms, and the provincial departments of education are responsible for providing each school with the schedule forms. Schedules for each grade should be submitted to the district in hard copy. A school stamp and the signatures of a departmental official and school principal are required to authenticate the schedule.

 

LEARNER PROFILE

 

65) A-Learner Profile is a continuous record of information that gives a holistic impression of a learner and the learner’s progress and performance. It assists teachers in the next grade or at a different school to understand the learner better and thereby respond appropriately to the learner.

 

66) Learner Profiles should be kept at the school and will be moved from one school to the next at the request of the principal of the next school. The school management of the receiving school has an obligation to request the Learner’s Profile from the previous school within three months of the learner’s admittance. The Leaner Profile for every learner must be safeguarded and should accompany learners throughout their schooling careers. The responsibility for the security of the Learner Profiles rests with the school management. The class teacher is responsible for updating the required information in the learner profile document.

 

67) Parents and other stakeholders have a right to access and view the Learner Profiles on request. The school should keep a record of aU the requests. The Learner Profile should be viewed in the presence of the school management. The Learner Profile is a confidential document and should be treated as such. Under no circumstances should sensitive information such as the health status of the learner be divulged to anyone without the written permission of the parent(s) or guardian(s). Under no circumstances should the Learner Profile document be removed from the school unless the learner transfers to another school at the request of the parent/ guardian.

 

68) The provincial departments of education are responsible for providing pre-printed files /folders for the Learner Profiles. These pre-printed files/folders should be designed such that a Learner Profile includes the following information:
• personal information;
• medical history;
• schools attended and record of attendance;
• participation and achievements in extra-curricular activities;
• areas needing additional support; and
• learner performance;

 

69) In cases where the files/folders become damaged, the school principal concerned should request the district office to replace them.

 

70) The compilation of a Learner Profile should commence in Grade R and should continue until a learner has completed Grade 12.

 

71) Once the learner has passed Grade 12 or exited the schooling system for any reason whatsoever, the learner profile should be stored for a period of three years at the last school attended, whereafter it should be destroyed. If the learner re-enters the schooling system within this specified period to further her/his studies, the provisos stated in paragraph 66 will apply.

 

72) The Learner Profile replaces all previous continuous record documents that have been used by schools, such as record cards, tutor cards, Edlab cards, etc.

 

Report Cards

 

73) The National Curriculum Statement (Grades R - 9) states that formal report cards should be sent to parents once a term. The report cards must provide a clear holistic picture of the learner’s achievements in different Learning Programmes/ Learning Areas.

 

74) A report card is an official document that is used to give feedback to parents on the achievement of learners. Schools should ensure that there are no errors, erasures or corrections that will compromise the legal status of the report cards. The school management team is responsible for ensuring that reports issued to learners do not contain any errors.

 

75) Learner performance for a term should be reflected on the report card for that term. The end of- year report card should indicate the cumulative learner performance for the year.

 

76) The achievement rating on a report card should be indicated by means of a combination of national codes together with either descriptors or percentages and comments. These should conform to the stipulations mentioned in paragraph 37, 41 and 45. The comments should provide more information on the strengths and developmental needs of each learner.

 

77) Report cards should include information on the following essential components (Examples of report cards are attached in Annexure C):
• Personal details: Name, grade and class of the learner, date of birth, school attendance profile.
• Official school details: Year and term; name of the school; date; signature and comments of parent or guardian, teacher and principal; dates of closing and opening of school; school stamp; and explanation of the national coding system.
• Performance details: A national code together with either descriptors or percentages indicating the level of performance per Learning Programme /Learning Area and a description of the strengths and developmental needs of the learner.
• Constructive feedback: The feedback should contain comments about the learner’s performance in relation to his/her previous performance.

 

78) A report card may be produced electronically or manually, using different styles preferred by the school, but should contain all the information mentioned in paragraph 77.

 

79) Schools should not accept report cards containing errors from other schools. Once a fraudulent report has been identified, the matter should be reported to the principal of the affected school and to the offices of the District and/or Provincial Department of Education.

 

80) In cases where a fraudulent report card is discovered, the Head of the Provincial Department of Education should institute an internal investigation into the matter and may take legal steps where necessary.

 

81) Parent(s) or guardian(s) have the right to access the report cards of their children.

 

82) Schools may not withhold report cards from learners for any reason whatsoever.

 

PROGRESSION IN GRADES R- 8

 

83) Ideally, all learners in Grades R - 8 should progress with their age cohort.

 

84) Any decision about progression should be based on the evidence of a learner’s performance against the recorded assessment tasks.

 

85) Where a learner needs more time to demonstrate achievement, decisions shall be made based on the advice of the relevant role-players: teachers, learners, parents and education support services (ESS).

 

86) No learner should stay in the same phase for longer than four years (or five years in the case of the Foundation Phase where Grade R is offered), unless the provincial Head of Department has given approval based on specific circumstances and professional advice.

 

87) If a learner needs more time to achieve the Learning Outcomes, then that learner need not be retained in a grade for a whole year. It is important that a learner support strategy be put in place to support such learners.

 

PROMOTION AT GRADE 9 LEVEL

 

88) Promotion occurs only at Grade 9 level. A learner is promoted from Grade 9 on the basis of demonstrating competerices that reflect a balanced spread over all eight Learning Areas, and which have been assessed through a continuous assessment programme and an external summative assessment component.

 

89) A learner will be promoted to Grade 10 only if s/he has satisfied the following achievement requirements:
a) At least a "moderate achievement" or level 3 rating in one of the Official Languages offered and Mathematics;
b) At least an "elementary achievement" or Ievel2 rating in the other Official Language; and
c) At least a "moderate achievement" or level 3 rating in four other Learning Areas.

 

90) All eight Learning Areas are compulsory and the assessment of a11 eight is compulsory, but the awarding of the qualification will be based on Languages, Mathematics and four (4) other Learning Areas.

 

91) The learner will be promoted only if s/he satisfies the requirements of both the Continuous Assessment (75%) and the External Assessment (25%) components in all the Learning Areas.

 

CONDONATION AT GRADE 9 LEVEL

 

92) The minimum requirements in terms of offering eight Learning Areas, a minimum of two languages, and evidence of performance in CASS and CTA should be met before condonation may be considered.

 

93) A learner‘s results will be condoned only once in one of the following cases:
a) when s/he achieves elementary achievement or level 2 in Mathematics; or
b) when s/he achieves elementary achievement or level 2 in Languages; or
c) when s/he achieves elementary achievement or level 2 in only one of the four other Learning Areas required for promotion.

 

94) Grade 9 signifies an exit point in the education system. All accredited examining bodies for this level must meet assessment requirements in terms of the provisions of the General and Further Education and Training Quality Assurance Council (Umalusi).

 

EXEMPTION

 

95) An immigrant learner that has been in the country for less than three years by the beginning of the grade 9 year will be exempted from the promotion requirement of two official languages. Such a learner still has to offer two official languages, but needs to obtain only a "moderate achievement" in one of these languages.

 

96) A deaf learner will be exempted from the promotion requirement of two official languages. However, this learner still needs to offer two languages (South African Sign Language and one other official language on at least first additional level) and is required to obtain a "moderate achievement" in only one of these languages.

 

97) Learners with any other special needs, including serious forms of language development delays such as dyslexia and mathematical disorders such as dyscalcula, should also be considered for exemption.