Monitoring Student Progress in Reading
In February 2010, it was announced that new measures would be introduced to boost the country’s education system. All students in Grades 1 to 6 and a sample in Grade 9 were required to take Annual National Assessments (ANAs) that are independently administered. Approximately 7 million students were tested nationally in 2011 to 2015. The ANAs are a major aspect of the educational targets of the National Development Plan to improve education in the country.23 However, the design, implementation, and subsequent analysis of the tests was seen by many to be problematic. Widespread criticism of the ANAs resulted in a national revolt by teacher unions against the testing, with many schools refusing to test in 2016. The program is suspended and the future plans not yet known.
Apart from national efforts to monitor student progress in reading, provincial departments require teachers to report learning progress regularly to students and parents and to the department. Subject record sheets, which include the topic area assessed, are used to record the performance of students. A combination of grades, codes, and comments is used for recording and reporting purposes. The Department of Education uses a seven-point scale ranging from “code 1: not achieved” (0 percent to 29 percent) to “code 7: outstanding achievement” (80 percent to 100 percent) and includes percentages attained for each subject.
The overall level of student performance is reflected in report cards, which form one of the main communication channels between the school and parents. In public schools, report cards are distributed at the end of each of the four yearly terms (three in the case of private schools). The Department of Basic Education mandates that teachers report regularly to students and parents in the form of report cards, as well as at parent meetings, during school visitation days, and through parent teacher conferences or phone calls. Schools determine which reporting strategies to use.