Given the impact of the recent industrial action the national Department of Basic Education recently announced that it has decided to postpone the annual national assessments for grade 3, 6 and 9 which was scheduled to take place in November.
The assessments are now due to take place in February 2011.
However, it must be noted that the annual literacy and numeracy testing, done annually by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), will still go ahead as planned in October.
Testing in 2010 will take place between 6 19 October and is scheduled for one day per school and will be administered by independent service providers appointed by the Western Cape Education Department.
Improving the reading, writing and calculating abilities of our learners are a key priority for this administration and the Western Cape Education Department's literacy and numeracy strategy plays a key role in fulfilling this objective.
The annual systemic tests therefore inform the Western Cape Education Department's literacy and numeracy strategy and assist the Western Cape Education Department to support schools in improving levels of literacy and numeracy. They also help schools to identify areas for improvement.
Given their importance, this year, the Western Cape Education Department has extended the testing programme.
From 2010, all grade 3 and 6 learners will be tested every year. For the first time, this programme will also be extended to grade 9s. The 2010 test, however, will be treated as a pilot and will cover the full cohort of grade 9 learners.
Testing will be in the language of learning and teaching (English and Afrikaans) and mathematics only. The pilot will provide valuable data needed to ensure the future validity of the tests in years to come.
Since its inception, the diagnostic tests have not been conducted at independent schools. However, this year, the Western Cape Education Department invited independent schools to take part in the programme and we are delighted to announce that grade 6 and 9 learners from 40 independent schools will be participating in 2010.
Each school will receive an analysis of its learners' achievements, which is intended to give teachers and support staff an understanding of how learners are performing in terms of their language and mathematics skills and to provide appropriate support.
The Western Cape Education Department's has kept schools fully informed regarding the tests via circulars and we look forward to their successful completion so that we can identify problem areas and undertake remedial action where necessary.
The department will generate reports for every school and will work with schools to develop teaching strategies to meet specific needs for 2011.
Media enquiries:
Bronagh Casey
Tel: 021 467 2377
Cell: 072 724 1422
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
