Durban - The raising of the pass mark for pupils in grades 7, 8 and 9 this year has put so many at risk of failing that the Basic Education Department has instructed schools across the country to adjust pupils’ scores and award extra marks.
In an effort to improve the quality of education in the public school system, the department raised the standard required to pass these grades - but with unforeseen consequences.
Last year, pupils in these grades only had to pass seven of their nine subjects, and earn 40% in one official language and 30% in a second official language, to be promoted.
But, with the introduction of the new Caps curriculum, this year’s crop have had to pass eight of their nine subjects, score at least 50% in their home language, and a minimum of 40% for their first additional language.
And, whereas last year pupils may have been granted a “condoned pass” in one of their subjects, that allowance fell away this year.
The department said intensive teacher training and the provision of learning and teaching support material had preceded the introduction of the new curriculum.
Department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga argued that it was the case elsewhere in the world, too, that changes to the curriculum resulted in some “instability”.
From this year’s June exam results, it had become apparent that the new pass requirements had caused a dip in marks.
Reports from provincial education departments were that the impact was worse than expected.
“It would therefore be unfair to the 2014 cohort of learners to bear the brunt of a systemic change, and there is a need for the department to manage the transition and the possible depressed learner performance,” Mhlanga said.
The national department has opted to issue provincial education departments with guidelines on how pupils’ marks should be adjusted, so that this year’s scores do not differ too drastically from the average performance of previous years.
“Where there is a substantial drop in the school performance, the district manager will make adjustments to the results within clearly defined parameters,” Mhlanga said.
Even with the tweaking of the marks, the overall academic performance of pupils in grades 7, 8 and 9 (called the senior phase) is expected to be lower this year than in previous years.
“This is the outcome of a high-skills, high-knowledge curriculum, and improved assessment standards,” Mhlanga said. He added that the “intervention” was in line with moderation and standardisation practices adopted “the world over” as a quality assurance tool, and a mechanism to manage anomalies that were the consequence of change.
In a circular from the national department last Friday, principals were instructed to determine the following statistics:
* The overall pass percentage for grades 7, 8 and 9 for this year.
* The overall pass percentage for grades 7, 8 and 9 for each of the previous three years.
* The average pass percentage for the previous three years, combined, for grades 7, 8 and 9.
The circular states that if the overall pass percentage for any of the grades in this year is more than 5% lower than the average for the previous three years, the results of pupils at that school and for that specific grade must be adjusted, so that the difference is within a 5% range.
The circular emphasises that the adjustment is temporary.
Basil Manuel, the president of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa), said that the change in the pass requirements had simply been too drastic - even for some top schools. Manuel said a survey of Naptosa’s top schools in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Joburg had revealed that 40% of pupils would fail this year according to the new pass mark.
While Naptosa supported raising standards, this had to be done gradually. Manuel said the decision to adjust the marks was a necessary “stopgap” as a direct result of his union’s intervention.
Allen Thompson, the deputy head of the National Teachers Union, said his members were not keen on adjusting marks. He also did not believe that the change in the pass requirements had been too drastic.
“People must meet standards. It can’t be that standards must meet people,” he said. “We are otherwise confining children to becoming low achievers. It is a mistake for the department to adjust the marks. A culture of meeting pass requirements must be inculcated at a young age.”
The Mercury