Errors blamed for maths test 'disaster'

THE national test used to measure the maths proficiency of more than a million Grade 9 pupils has been found to be riddled with errors.

The paper has also been labelled "mathematically unsound" in some cases, with glaring mistakes in questions covering a staggering 76 out of 140 marks.

This is according to Vishnu Naidoo, the chairman of the Foundation for English, Mathematics, Sciences and Innovation of SA (FEMSISA), who informed officials of the Department of Basic Education of these in October.

Results of the paper triggered outrage this week when they revealed that only 25000 out of about a million Grade 9 pupils scored 50% or more, while the average percentage mark obtained was a mere 13%.

The Grade 9 maths test was part of the Annual National Assessments (ANA) written by more than seven million pupils from grades 1 to 6 and those in Grade 9 at more than 24000 schools.

Naidoo said he informed department officials, including the head of exams, Rufus Poliah, in an e-mail that the Grade 9 maths paper lacked credibility and was "an absolute disaster".

Poliah, in his reply, admitted the department was aware that there might be questions that "can be improved" and described Naidoo's comment as alarmist.

Department officials subsequently met Naidoo, who is the principal of Buffelsdale Secondary on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, to discuss his organisation's concerns.

Yesterday, in a statement, the department denied that the paper was riddled with errors. It said two teachers and two moderators, who were specialist subject advisers, had set the paper.

A team of teachers who evaluated the paper also found the paper to be fair and the questions "clear and unambiguous."

Naidoo has set matric maths papers for four years and has served as a chief marker, deputy chief marker and senior marker for 26 years.

Errors highlighted by Naidoo's team include:

A question on calculating compound interest was set, but the formula sheet to assist in solving the problem was not provided;

There was a flaw in a triangle because the sum of the two sides was not greater than the third side; and

A question did not state whether the interest being referred to was simple or compound.

Dr Vijay Reddy, executive director of the education and skills development research programme at the Human Sciences Research Council, said the test "did not appear to be appropriate" for Grade 9 pupils.

"I am not denying that South Africa's performance [in maths] is low, but I don't think it's as low as this," she said.

Reddy is due on Tuesday to release results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011, in which 600000 pupils from 63 countries, including South Africa, took part.

South African pupils were placed last in both the 1999 and the 2003 tests. The country did not participate in 2007.

Said Reddy: "We need to raise questions about whether the assessment instrument [test] was a fair one for Grade 9s. If we want to use the ANA as a tool to improve performance, we need to ensure the testing and design meet scientific requirements."

An HSRC study conducted two years ago, which involved Grade 9 maths pupils, found that the average performance was 30%.

Professor Anil Kanjee, an educational researcher at the Tshwane University of Technology, said the Grade 9 maths results pointed to "no level of learning" having taken place. "We need to look very carefully at the methodology by which these results were obtained. Without knowing that, I would view these results with some caution," he said.

Professor Sizwe Mabizela, deputy vice-chancellor for academic and student affairs at Rhodes University, said one of the main reasons for the poor maths performance in grades 6 and 9 was that there was very poor teaching of the subject in the preceding grades.