Question 1505
Mr A P van der Westhuizen (DA) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:
(1)What was the average of the raw marks achieved by candidates in the
National Senior Certificate Examination in November 2008 before the inclusion of year marks and statistical adjustments by Umalusi, for (a) Mathematics (i) Paper
1, (ii) Paper 2 and (iii) Paper 3, (b) Accounting and (c) Physical Science (i) Paper 1 and (ii) Paper 2;
(2) what would have been the final mark per subject of a candidate who achieved a raw mark of 20% in the examination papers and for whom a year mark of 50% was submitted if both this year mark and the mark achieved in the examinations reflected the average of the marks for the learner cohort of a particular school for Mathematics Paper 1 and Paper 2, Accounting and Physical Science?
Reply:
(1) The raw marks achieved by candidates in the NSC, prior to the inclusion of school based assessment (SBA) marks and the statistical adjustments, are regarded as an incomplete measure of the learner's performance and are therefore not analysed or included in our reporting on learner performance. Both the inclusion of SBA marks and the statistical adjustment of marks are internationally recognised components in the summation of a learner's performance and there are sound educational reasons for the inclusion of both these components. Therefore, analysing learner performance, with these two components excluded is a fruitless exercise.
(2) The practice of statistically adjusting the school based assessment (SBA) marks to the examination marks is based on the principle that the SBA marks should not deviate significantly from the examination marks, in a cohort where all other conditions have remained relatively similar.
Therefore, the SBA marks should not deviate by more than 5 - 10% from the examination marks. In a subject where a learner obtained 20% in the examination and 50% in the SBA, the SBA will be adjusted to 25% so that it lies within the acceptable range. This practice is also based on the researched position that SBA marks have a lower reliability than examination marks. The centralised setting of the question papers and the controlled conditions relating to the writing and marking of examinations, accords examination marks a higher reliability and therefore in the absence of a more reliable benchmark, the examination is used as an anchor in this statistical adjustment process.
Source: Department of Basic of Education
