Reading, writing, and maths skills have again improved significantly across Gauteng schools in Grades 3 to 6, the Annual National Assessment (ANA) results released by Basic Education Minister Angelina Matsie Motshekga today show.
Welcoming the results as “a further indication that education in Gauteng remains firmly on the right track,” MEC Barbara Creecy said the continuing improvement was attributable in large part to the Gauteng Primary Language and Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS) initially implemented in January 2010. This strategy has provided over 900 schools in the province with the support and materials needed to continually improve the performance of their learners.
The GPLMS initially covered Grades 1 to 3 and was in 2011 extended to Grades 4 to 7.
Gauteng’s 2013 ANA home language proficiency shows an improvement in all Grades, with the greatest improvement 18% in Grade 6. Maths results show an improvement of over 13 % in Grades 3 and 6. English first additional language has improved by 6% in Grades 4 to 6. Grades 1-3 do not write ANA tests in English first additional language.
The Annual National Assessments are standardised tests set across the country to assess whether each child in each of the grades under evaluation has developed the language and mathematics skills appropriate for their grade.
MEC Creecy said that “while Gauteng is very pleased at the continual progress made in our schools as shown by the latest ANA results, we believe that further interventions will remain necessary to ensure even better performance across the system.
The GPLMS project has integrated classroom lessons, assessment activities and homework tasks into a unified approach to learning, informed by the standards set for the ANAs – Issued by the Gauteng Department of Education