Today, 8 September 2014, Premier Helen Zille and Minister Debbie Schäfer will be announcing the Western Cape’s targets for the upcoming National Senior Certificate examinations.
The Premier and the Minister will be highlighting how the Western Cape will interpret the results, when they are released in January next year, touching on key indicators such as retention and the quality of passes.
While many continue to obsess about the pass rate, the Premier and the Minister will discuss how it is not an accurate measure of the education system’s performance.
They will also be raising the issue of competency testing markers. Much has been said regarding the importance of competency testing for markers over the last two years, yet the Western Cape remains the only Province to conduct testing of this nature.
Premier Zille and Minister Schäfer will argue that it remains a priority for the Western Cape to ensure that there is the highest possible standard of marking in these examinations and that all our markers are both competent and experienced in their subject fields, despite the ‘disadvantage’ it may bring to the overall result.
While we are again alone in ensuring quality marking in the run-up to the 2014 exams, there is no doubt that the quality of marking will again be a factor when analysing the 2014 results.
Date: Monday, 8 September 2014
Time: 10h30
Venue: Media Room, 15 Wale Street, Cape Town
Please allow for time for signing in or confirm attendance with ID number in advance.
Media enquiries:
Jessica Shelver – Spokesperson to Minister Debbie Schafer
Cell: 076 175 0663
