Minister Motshekga commits conditionally to teachers writing ANA's
15 March 2015
In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, has confirmed that mathematics teachers will be required to write the Annual National Assessments (ANA) on mathematics that our Grade 3, 6 and 9 learners write every year.
The testing of teachers was committed to unequivocally in 2011. The commitment now, four years later, is however more conditional, with the Minister stating that it will have to be preceded "by proper consultation with relevant role-players and formulation of relevant policy to support teacher testing".
We do not believe that there is any need for consultation with any relevant role-player other than the employers of the teachers - the provincial departments of education. I will therefore raise further questions to the Minister to determine her understanding of "relevant role-players". (We assume she means SADTU.)
The reply to my Parliamentary question also revealed the results of the teacher testing, if it goes ahead, will be for research purposes only. This is not acceptable.
The Southern and East African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality III (SAQMEQ) studies have shown that teachers could not answer questions taken from tests that their learners were expected to answer. Only 38% grade 6 mathematics teachers tested could answer a grade 6 question correctly - meaning 62% of teachers could not answer.
We cannot just "research" the lack of competency of our teachers.
Every teacher must write the ANA test for the grade he or she is teaching (and preferably for a few grades higher as well), regardless of union views on the matter.
Every teacher who cannot achieve at least 80% in the relevant test must be directed towards effective development, and retested after that development intervention;
Every teacher who cannot teach mathematics must be removed from the teaching of the subject.
Delaying implementation of this competency measurement mechanism will only protect mediocrity, and allow it to fester in our schooling system.
The Minister knows that the quality of an education system can never exceed the quality of its teachers. She must be fearless in pursuing this.
Text of the reply:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 508
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 06/03/2015
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 05/2015
508. Ms A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:
(1) Whether provincial education departments have been instructed to complete the curricula for grades participating in the Annual National Assessments (ANAs) by August of each year, in preparation for the ANAs; if so, how is the teaching of a curriculum designed to be taught over a school year achieved within less than eight months without compromising effective learning;
(2) (a) why the cycle of the ANAs is timed to take place during a school year, rather than at the start or at the end of a year and (b) how she plans to minimise the disruption to schooling precipitated by the writing of the ANAs;
(3) whether she has considered replacing the ANAs with the independently administered systemic testing utilised in the Western Cape; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) whether all (a) teachers and (b) subject advisors active in the grades participating in the ANAs will be required to write the examinations administered to learners during 2014; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case? NW588E
RESPONSE:
(1) No. Teaching in all schools is paced in terms of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), which clearly stipulates the sequence and duration of the content areas, and therefore teaching is not programmed based on the Annual National Assessment (ANA). ANA tests learners on the work they would have covered at the point of testing. This implies that the ANA is based on the work covered in the three quarters, and does not include aspects of the curriculum not covered, post the test date.
(2) (a) ANA is an external assessment that is administered at the end of the third quarter of the school year, a convenient point when at least 75% of the work for the year has been covered. Writing at the end of the third quarter allows enough time for the administration of tests and marking of the 7 million scripts by teachers before they embark on administering the final examinations/assessments, and process learner promotions and progressions at the end of the fourth quarter.
(b) ANA has never precipitated disruption of schooling.
(3) No, replacing ANA is not one of the options considered by my Department. ANA in its current form is intended to, among other things, model good assessment in schools and serve as a diagnostic instrument and, as such, cannot be replaced by any assessment that may not achieve these purposes. In addition, the current design of ANA includes an independent component where tests are administered, marked and processed by an independent agent. Therefore, the independence alluded to in the question is already accommodated in the current design. Further, my Department is reviewing the design of ANA so that eventually we can have separate assessments that serve different purposes.
(4) (a) Yes, the testing of teachers in ANA is in the Action Plan to 2014 Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025. However, it will be preceded by proper consultation with relevant role-players and formulation of relevant policy to support teacher testing. When it happens, the names of the participating teachers will be anonymous and the results will be used only for research purposes.
(b) No, because the Department has a comprehensive strategy of developing and supporting subject advisors and empowering them for effective delivery of the curriculum, not only for ANA per se.
ENDS
Statement issued by Annette Lovemore MP, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, March 15 2015
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