The use of grade three external assessment results in two Gauteng public schools to improve teaching and learning.
Date
2012-02-28
Authors
Viljoen, Hettie Cornelia
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Abstract
Based on evidence of the success of data informed interventions in the
literature, we undertook a qualitative case study investigation of how two public
primary schools used the results of the two external assessments, the Gauteng
Provincial Assessment (GPA) and the Annual National Assessment (ANA) in
2008, to improve teaching and learning. At the time of the study the Department
of Basic Education (DBE) has not yet guided the schools officially how to use
the results and the district participating in the study used innovative measures
to assist the schools.
During semi-structured interviews, the district coordinator and principal, head of
department and Grade 3 Literacy and Numeracy teachers at each of the two
schools helped us understand how they interacted with the results. Several
reasons were given why neither of the two schools used the GPA results. The
ANA results were more useful for the classroom and the district and both
schools considered them in part for planning their intervention strategies for the
following year.
Both exercises were new to the schools and at the time of the study the DBE
had not yet provided teachers with guidance on how to use the test results to
improve teaching and learning. As a result the two schools studied made very
little use of the ANA scores, while the GPA results were found by the teachers
to be of no assistance. Instead both schools relied on their internal assessment
practices. The DBE have started to address the lack of guidance on how to use
the results in 2011.
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Keywords
External assessment, Assessment for learning, Assessment of learning