Minister Angie Motshekga: Release of Annual National Assessments results 2014 | South African Government
ANA 2014 Results
The ANA 2014 results are a significant milestone in basic education in more than one sense:
Firstly, this is the first ANA that involves the entire General Education and Training Phase (GET) Band (Grades 1-9) However; Grades 7 and 8 were included as pilot studies based on the fact that 2014 saw the first wall-to-wall implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Thirdly, this year marked a turning point for ANA as the President had declared that by 2014 at least 60% of South African learners in Grades 3, 6 & 9 must be achieving acceptable levels of achievement in both literacy (language) and numeracy (mathematics).
ANA 2014 was administered on more than 7, 3 million Grades 1-9 learners in all public schools. Grades 7 and 8, as I previously said, were included as a pilot project in preparation for a full-scale incorporation of the Senior Phase into the ANA tool in the foreseeable future. The learners in each grade participated in testing their knowledge and skills in the fundamental competencies of literacy (language) and numeracy (Mathematics) which we all know are critical to further learning in any field of study. Where applicable, the tests were modified for learners who have special learning needs, so that the assessment can be seen as not only credible, but also sensitive in the spirit of our commitment to an inclusive education system.
Quality assurance procedures that were undertaken included:
Running pilot studies of the tests,
Monitoring of the administration of tests by both the Department of Basic Education and all Provincial Education Departments,
Centralised moderation of samples of scripts,
Centralised capture of marks and
An independent verification of key processes in the assessment.
The administration of ANA 2014 was preceded by focused interventions by the Department of Basic Education embarked upon following the release of 2013 ANA results. We prioritised a basket of interventions; chief among these was a focus on empowering our districts to provide necessary support to schools to improve teaching and learning. District support coupled with the distribution of workbooks of excellent educational quality to all learners created conditions that enabled our schools, principals and teachers to carry out their respective tasks with increased levels of confidence.
Results Announcement
The average performance in each of the Grades in Mathematics at a national level is as follows:
Grade 1:68.4%; Grade 2: 61.8%; Grade 3: 55.4%; Grade 4: 37.3%; Grade 5: 37.3%; Grade 6: 43% and Grade 9: 10.8%.
The average performance in each of the Grades in Home Languages at a national level is as follows:
Grade 1:63.2%; Grade 2: 61.1%; Grade 3: 56.2%; Grade 4: 56.5%; Grade 5: 57.1%; Grade 6: 62.7% and Grade 9: 48.3%.
The average performance in grades 4, 5, 6, and 9 in First Additional Language at a national level is as follows:
Grade 4: 41%;
Grade 5: 46.7%;
Grade 6:45.4% and
Grade 9: 34.4%.
The overall performance in ANA 2014 shows an upward trend in performance with average percentage scores increasing by a maximum of 8% in Mathematics in Grade 1 and also increases in all other Grades, except Grade 9. The proportion of learners who achieve acceptable levels of performance stand at over 80% in Grade 1 Mathematics.
Overall, the results show that the system is responding to the unrelenting focus on underperformance and inefficiency within the system. For instance 12 out of 81 districts achieved average percentage scores of 50% and above in Grade 6 Mathematics. Seven of these districts are in Gauteng, four in Western Cape and one in KwaZulu Natal. What these districts have done was to use the 2013 ANA diagnostic results to map out improvements plans – and it worked. In fact 11 of the 12 districts were among the top 12 districts in 2013 similar to almost all other districts their performance increased slightly. This shows ANA’s positive utility in no unmistakable terms.