A research report has found that between 19% to 34% of children whose second language is English can’t read a single English word correctly by the end of grade 3.
In an urgent bid to address SA’s literacy crisis, researchers have now produced certain minimum targets that pupils in grade 2-6 should achieve for oral reading fluency in English first additional language.
The authors of the report, posted on the department of basic education’s website last week, included Gabrielle Wills (Stellenbosch University), Prof Cally Ardington (University of Cape Town), Prof Elizabeth Pretorius (Unisa), Eileen Pooe (North West University) Refilwe Ramagoshi (University of Pretoria) and Lesang Sebaeng from the department of basic education.
The document, titled “Benchmarking early grade reading skills in South Africa: technical report — English first additional language”, stated: “Reading for meaning is a core skill that children must master in the early grades to be able to learn.”
The study said reading benchmarks and thresholds provide standards against which teachers can measure pupils’ reading subskills.
One of the reading subskills the report focused on was the ability to read words in context with speed and accuracy.
The authors proposed that the department of basic education adopt a benchmark of 30 correct words per minute (cwpm) or above to gauge grade 2 pupils’ oral reading fluency in English first additional language.
“This should be viewed as a development threshold, a stepping stone to meeting the threshold of 50 cwpm by the end of grade 3.”
The report stated that when pupils reached the minimum threshold of 50 cwpm at the end of grade 3, “they start to derive a limited amount of meaning from what they are reading”.
“If pupils do not reach this level of fluency, higher-order reading skills are very unlikely to develop. Below this threshold we find little evidence that pupils can comprehend anything of what they have read, evidenced by very low oral comprehension or written comprehension scores.”
At the end of grades 4, 5 and 6 pupils should be reading grade-appropriate passages in English first additional language at the rate of 70, 90 and 100 cwpm respectively.
The report said after pupils in grade 6 demonstrated they were able to read 90 cwpm, teachers’ focus should shift “to the teaching of the skills and strategies pupils need to tackle written comprehension, while encouraging vocabulary and language development”.
The authors cautioned that while the reading benchmarks for the different grades may be criticised for being too low by international standards, “it is important to qualify that we are not presenting these as desired levels of pupil performance at the 50th or 75th percentile”.
“Rather they reflect minimum fluency levels to be attained by all pupils in no-fee schools by the end of each grade. As reading improves into the future, these minimum suggested EFAL [English First Additional Language] fluency levels should be shifted upwards.”
Most pupils are taught in their mother tongue in grades 1, 2 and 3, while 90% of them are then taught in English from grade 4 onwards.
The researchers used data from several early grade reading studies conducted exclusively at no-fee schools to establish the benchmarks.
The study said early grade reading was not “being systematically measured in SA at district, provincial or national levels”.
“Without credible measurement of foundational early reading skills, it will not be possible to track reading progress.”
Measurement of early reading skills would bring into focus the importance of early reading skills, reshaping policy priorities towards developing reading competency and directing resources to promote reading development.
— Literacy research report
It recommended a national system to test and monitor early grade reading skills.
“Measurement of early reading skills would bring into focus the importance of early reading skills, reshaping policy priorities towards developing reading competency and directing resources to promote reading development.”
Other recommendations include:
- continued collection of early grade reading data to establish threshold and benchmarks in all SA languages;
- all forthcoming early grade reading data collection programmes should ensure evidence-based best practices are followed so new assessments can support benchmarking exercises;
- ensure that EGRA-type (Early Grade Reading Assessment) assessments are included as a critical aspect of formative assessment practice in primary schools;
- pre-service Initial Teacher Education programmes should also reflect familiarity with EGRA assessment procedures;
- resources to promote reading development through a multisectoral approach need to be consistently prioritised in policy and in budgets; and
- there must be an urgent allocation of resources for large-scale reading remediation programmes in all schools.
Professor Chika Sehoole, dean of the education faculty at the University of Pretoria, said the proposed benchmarks assume all teachers are competent in English and can impart those skills to pupils.
“English is the third or even fourth language even for some of the teachers, so for most of the pupils in the country I don’t see it working.
“It’s an ideal to work towards, but in practice, in our own context in SA, with inequalities in terms of learning facilities, it will not be easy for pupils to master this.”
Sehoole, however, welcomed the recommendation that pre-service Initial Teacher Education programmes also reflect familiarity with early grade reading assessment procedures.
“We are dealing with a policy review where we are going to emphasise equipping our teachers of African languages with quality and competent skills to be able to go into class and assist pupils in early grades with reading and writing.”
Professor Labby Ramrathan from the University of KwaZulu-Natal said if such benchmarks were possible for an average pupil to achieve, “it would be appropriate to aspire to these benchmarks”.
“The challenge is there will be little opportunity to develop these reading skills to meet the expected benchmarks because we have such a packed foundation [grades R, 1, 2 and 3] and intermediate phase curriculum [grade 4-6].
“It is senseless establishing these benchmarks if there is no real opportunity to develop pupils to achieve these levels.”
Basic education department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga had not responded to queries at the time of publication.
In his 2019 state of the nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the goal was to get every 10-year-old to read for meaning by 2030.
The 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) found that 78% of SA grade 4 pupils could not read for meaning.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.