Understanding primary school
performance in Southern
Africa (SACMEQ)
Nicholas Spaull
nicspaull.com/research
nicholasspaull@gmail.com
Background: Data
SACMEQ
 Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
 14 participating countries
 SACMEQ II (2000), SACMEQ III (2007)
 Background survey
 Testing :
o Gr 6 Numeracy
o Gr 6 Literacy
o HIV/AIDS Health knowledge
SACMEQ: South Africa
 9071 Grade 6 students
 1163 Grade 6 teachers
 392 primary schools
Distribution
of student
performance
SA in regional context
WCA
LIM
Looking specifically
at South Africa
South Africa: Socioeconomic breakdown
SA Bimodality – fact, no longer theory
Language
PIRLS Gr 5 (Shepherd, 2011)
.001
.015
.01
.005
.002
Density
.003
.004
.02
.005
.025
Ex-Department
NSES Gr 4 (Taylor, 2011)
0
0
Two education systems not one
0
400
reading test score
20
800
40
60
Numeracy score 2008
Ex-DET/Homelands schools
English/Afrikaans schools
80
100
Historically white schools
0
Socioeconomic status
SACMEQ Gr 6 (Spaull, 2011)
.0 04
.0 06
.0 08
African language schools
600
.0 02
200
D en sity
0
0
200
400
600
Learner Reading Score
800
Poorest 25%
Second poorest 25%
Second wealthiest 25%
Wealthiest 25%
1000
Regional
comparisons
SA in regional context
Public Current expenditure on
Country
Total population Adult literacy
(mil)
rate
Net Enrolment
Rate (2008)
GNP/cap PPP primary education per pupil (unit
US$ (2008)
cost) 2007 – [PPP constant 2006
US$]
Survival rate to
Grade 5: school
year ending 2007
Botswana
1.92
83%
87%
13100
1228
89%3
Mozambique
22.38
54%
80%
770
792
60%
Namibia
2.13
88%
89%
6270
668
87%3
South Africa
49.67
89%
87%
9780
1225
98%
(UNESCO, 2011)
(UNESCO, 2011)
(UNESCO, 2011)
(UNESCO, 2011)
(UIS, 2009)
(UNESCO, 2011)
Source
SACMEQ III
(2007)
Self-reported teacher
absenteeism
Proportion of Grade 6
students functionally
illiterate
Proportion of Grade 6
students functionally
innumerate
Proportion of students Proportion of students
with own reading
with own mathematics
textbook
textbook
Botswana
10.6 days
10.62%
22.48%
63%
62%
Mozambique
6.4 days
21.51%
32.73%
53%
52%
Namibia
9.4 days
13.63%
47.69%
32%
32%
South Africa
19.4 days
27.26%
40.17%
45%
36%
Textbooks
Resources the issue?
More reading
textbooks


More maths
textbooks
Questions,
conclusions &
recommendations
Questions
1.
How is it possible that more Mozambican students have access to their
own textbooks than SA students, and this when SA spends 15 times as
much per child than Mozambique? (workbook delivery?)
2.
How is possible that Limpopo performs worse than all 40 other provinces
in SA/Namibia/Botswana/Mozambique?
3.
Why is it acceptable in South Africa for teachers to be absent
(unjustifiably) for an entire month?
4.
Do we really know what is wrong with our system? If so, why has it taken
so long to fix it?
•
LOLT? Unions? Teacher training?
Conclusions
• Speaking of a single education system in SA
is a misnomer – the average South African
student does not exist in any meaningful
sense.
 Bimodality is a fact.
• South Africa is not able to convert material
advantage into cognitive skills
Low
quality
education
Low
social
mobility
Hereditary
poverty
 Highly inefficient
• While the survey was conducted in 2007,
and things may have changed, the outcomes
certainly haven’t (see ANA’s, 2011; and (?)
PIRLS/TIMSS 2012)
 More of the same?
Serious blight on the national
conscience
Persistent patterns of poverty
and privilege
Recommendations
1. Acknowledge the extent of the problem
• Low quality education is one of the three largest crises facing our
country (along with HIV/AIDS and unemployment)
2. Experiment to figure out what works
• More of the same hasn’t worked  Need to try new things and
rigorously evaluate them to see what works.
– Workbooks & ANA’s are a positive sign
– Failed programmes provide useful information when acknowledged &
disseminated.
3. Increase accountability, information & transparency
• Where is the money going?
• Deal ruthlessly with corruption – this is a social crime.
• For at least one grade (Gr6?) get ANA externally validated by an
independent body like Umalusi and get this information to parents
 need to empower parents with information in an accessible format
Thank you
www.nicspaull.com/research
nicholasspaull@gmail.com
@NicSpaull