Sue Blaine
6 January 2009
Johannesburg — THE large jump in the number of matriculants who passed mathematics at a level roughly equivalent to an old higher-grade pass is causing concern.
Yesterday the Democratic Alliance (DA) called for Education Minister Naledi Pandor to conduct an independent inquiry into last year's matric exams after concerns were raised about the quality of last year's pass rate, and that of mathematics in particular.
The DA was also concerned about 60000 matriculants who are still waiting for their results.
SA's universities are already wary about the class of 2008 because they are the first to have written the new National Senior Certificate and the standard is unknown, but about 35000 more matriculants than usual passed mathematics at a level roughly equivalent to a higher level, and this is sure to cause concern at universities when they pitch up as prospective students.
Higher and standard grade mathematics was eliminated in the 2008 academic year.
From 1991-07 about 28000 matriculants passed mathematics higher grade annually.
This year about 63000 achieved 50% or more in mathematics -- about the equivalent of a higher grade pass, said Dr Vijay Reddy, the executive director of the human sciences research council's education, science and skills development research programme.
Reddy headed a team that conducted the 2003 international trends in mathematics and science study , in which SA came last out of 40 countries.
"What does it mean that 63000 passed mathematics higher grade equivalent? We do need to examine that.
"Each year we should have similar pass rates. To have that jump, I am not sure there is equivalence (between the standard of the pre-2008 examinations and last year's examinations). The universities are going to have to figure out what this means," she said.
DA spokeswoman Desiree van der Walt said: "On the surface, the 2008 matric exam results suggest that our education system is showing signs of improvement. But there is a growing number of questions about the extent to which these results are in fact only smoke and mirrors.
"Furthermore, the department's failure to release more than 10% of the matric results is indicative of astonishing administrative failures which cannot go uninvestigated."
At this point, 57000 matric candidates still did not have their final results because school-level assessment marks and oral or practical requirements were outstanding.
The education department said its only comment was that Umalusi, the statutory body that is the independent quality assurer of the matric examinations, had raised no concern about the standard of the mathematics examinations.
Reddy and others, including University of the Witwatersrand honorary professor in education Jonathan Jansen, said SA's poor track record in mathematics was another reason to question last year's mathematics results.
Performance in a subject such as mathematics was the result of years of work, starting in the first years of school, and the education department's own evaluation of grade 3 pupils' capacity in numeracy and literacy revealed an average numeracy capacity of between 30% and 35% -- which put a big question mark over the 2008 matric mathematics examinations, Reddy said.
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