SA is still the class dunce

SOUTH African pupils are still near the bottom of the class internationally in maths, science and reading ability.

Both the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, gave South African education a rotten report card on their release in Pretoria yesterday.

Though Grade 8 pupils from 42 countries participated in the trends study, the Human Sciences Research Council chose to test to about 12000 Grade 9 pupils at 285 schools.

South African pupils came last in the study in 1999 and 2003.

Dr Vijay Reddy, executive director of the council's education and skills development research programme, said South Africa's Grade 8 pupils would have achieved a score of 331 in maths, the equivalent of last position, if they had taken part in the international study.

Grade 9 maths pupils, who competed only against Botswana and Honduras, achieved an average score of 352 compared to Botswana (397) and Honduras (338). But science pupils from Botswana and Honduras achieved higher scores than their South African counterparts.

The trend analysis, according to the Human Sciences Research Council, revealed that:

The country's average scores for maths and science, despite still being low, have improved since 2002;

The greatest improvement in scores was at formerly black schools; and Former Model C schools and private schools have not shown any major improvements.

The top- performing provinces in both maths and science were Western Cape, Gauteng and Northern Cape.

The results of the Annual National Assessments for Grade 9 maths, which were released by the Department of Basic Education last week, revealed that the average mark was 13%.

The results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, administered by the University of Pretoria's Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, indicated that the 3515 Grade 5 pupils who wrote the test in both English and Afrikaans were performing well below the international standard for Grade 4 pupils in reading literacy.

The literacy study found that 43% of Grade 5 pupils failed to achieve the low international benchmark, and only 4% achieved the high international benchmark.

In a test taken before the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study test, in which Colombia, Botswana and South Africa participated, the 15744 Grade 4 South African pupils were placed last - despite it being an easier test.

Professor Sarah Howie, national research co-ordinator, said those who wrote in their home language achieved "very low outcomes" and pupils tested in Sepedi and Tshivenda had the lowest scores.

Commenting on the country's poor maths performance, maths consultant Aarnout Brombacher said most pupils stalled at Grade 4 because their foundation skills were "simply too weak".

He said they were taught to memorise instead of to understand.

Relying solely on memorisation of facts, children survive the first few years but after Grade 4 "they can no longer apply what they have learned with reasoning and the house of cards collapses".