For most South African learners, the destination language of instruction (typically English) is not their mother tongue; thus, proficiency in English is necessary for educational success. However, research has shown that development of linguistic skills is more effective in the mother tongue, and that these skills can be transferred to a second language (especially when high levels of proficiency are reached in the first language).
February 6, 2025 PDF
The 2023 Back-on-Track (BoT) programme, launched by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), aimed to address significant learning deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over a period of three years. This R1.2 billion initiative targeted improvements in mathematics and language through interventions for learners and teachers in grades 4, 7, and 8. Using Systemic Tests and School-Based Assessments (SBAs), this evaluation assesses the programme’s impact on grade 4 and grade 7 learners.
February 6, 2025 PDF
In this Covid-Generation working paper, Bianca Böhmer and Gabrielle Wills contribute new evidence on pandemic effects on reading scores and inequalities in reading in South Africa through an in-depth analysis of data from the 2016 and 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) – a Grade 4 reading comprehension assessment.
December 23, 2023 PDF
Three international testing programmes, including PIRLS, point to educational quality improvements in South Africa during the period 2002 to 2019. The gains were substantial, relative to the steepness of improvements seen in other countries. What lay behind these trends? National education quality trends are not easy to explain, and this is seldom attempted in a systematic manner.
July 15, 2022 PDF
