Teachers are letting our pupils down
The quality of teaching in South Africa has been highlighted by a report presented to parliamentarians on Tuesday‚ showing weakening scores for reading and mathematics among educators.The report by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ)‚ discussed by the Basic Education Portfolio Committee‚ showed:- For reading‚ the average score achieved by Grade 6 teachers dropped from a score of 758 in the 2007 study to 672 in the 2013 study.- For mathematics‚ the average score achieved by Grade 6 teachers dropped from a score of 764 in the 2007 study to 757 in the 2013 study. - Only 32.9% of Grade 6 teachers in the 2013 study demonstrated “critical reading” skills compared to 77.8% in the 2007 study. - Of the 14 Southern and East African countries surveyed‚ South Africa was ranked 6th overall‚ behind countries with considerably smaller economies. - 34.7% of Gr.6 learners are below the required level for reading. - 54.6% of Gr. 6 learners are below the required level for mathematics."The data underscores the need to improve the quality of teaching in our schools‚" commented Gavin Davis‚ MP and the Democratic Alliance's Shadow Minister of Basic Education.He said the DA will be calling for a full-scale review of teacher training and ongoing development of teachers...
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