Confusion over the Annual National Assessments (ANA) reigned in East London yesterday as some schools admitted to having written the tests while others said they were waiting for pupils to return before they could be completed.
Many pupils have stayed at home since the end of exams.
Concerns have now been raised in some quarters over the potential of the ANA papers to be leaked by those who have written them.
ANAs are meant to assess pupils from grades 1 to 9 in languages and mathematics.
They are used by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to monitor and track the performance of pupils and diagnose areas of weakness.
A snap poll by the Daily Dispatch yesterday found some schools had written the tests, some still had to do so while others had asked for permission to write next year.
“The structure of the papers is such that even if the pupils shared the content it would not compromise the tests. The tests are not designed for pupil’s individual promotion purposes,” DBE spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said.
“In the case of schools writing next year, it would be the same paper.
“It is not designed to extract correct answers from pupils but to test their thinking and analytical skills.”
He said schools which could not administer ANA this year were expected to request permission from the department.
Mhlanga said schools given permission would have to produce a letter from the HOD’s office confirming this.
Rhodes University-based Public Service Accountability Monitor education expert Zukiswa Kota questioned whether the assessments would be accurate. “It is highly questionable whether the current climate can meaningfully facilitate successful assessment,” he said.
“Ultimately the most important thing is to ensure that the ANAs are implemented in such a way that they fulfil their key objectives without placing undue strain on pupils, school personnel or resulting in public resource wastage.”
Independent education expert Graeme Bloch said: “ANA must be written so we can have comparison.”
However, he questioned the DBE’s stance to go ahead despite a disagreement with teacher unions. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
Confusion over writing of ANAs
Many pupils have stayed at home since the end of exams.
Concerns have now been raised in some quarters over the potential of the ANA papers to be leaked by those who have written them.
ANAs are meant to assess pupils from grades 1 to 9 in languages and mathematics.
They are used by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to monitor and track the performance of pupils and diagnose areas of weakness.
A snap poll by the Daily Dispatch yesterday found some schools had written the tests, some still had to do so while others had asked for permission to write next year.
“The structure of the papers is such that even if the pupils shared the content it would not compromise the tests. The tests are not designed for pupil’s individual promotion purposes,” DBE spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said.
“In the case of schools writing next year, it would be the same paper.
“It is not designed to extract correct answers from pupils but to test their thinking and analytical skills.”
He said schools which could not administer ANA this year were expected to request permission from the department.
Mhlanga said schools given permission would have to produce a letter from the HOD’s office confirming this.
Rhodes University-based Public Service Accountability Monitor education expert Zukiswa Kota questioned whether the assessments would be accurate. “It is highly questionable whether the current climate can meaningfully facilitate successful assessment,” he said.
“Ultimately the most important thing is to ensure that the ANAs are implemented in such a way that they fulfil their key objectives without placing undue strain on pupils, school personnel or resulting in public resource wastage.”
Independent education expert Graeme Bloch said: “ANA must be written so we can have comparison.”
However, he questioned the DBE’s stance to go ahead despite a disagreement with teacher unions. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
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