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The state of South African schools has long been a point of concern.

Earlier this year, we looked into the matric pass rates for mathematics.

The standard pass mark for maths is 30%, which University of Cape Town professor Suellen Shay points out is enough to allow a student to enter a university, but far from adequate to prepare students to succeed at a university level.

This sets the benchmark very low and, to compound the problem, fewer students than ever before are writing exams for the standard mathematics curriculum, opting instead for basic Mathematics Literacy.

Add our appalling science scores to the list of areas that we’re failing in, and it isn’t surprising that our place in the grand scheme of things is nothing short of embarrassing.

Per The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), South Africa participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019, at the grade 5 and grade 9 level, in order to monitor educational progress in the primary education system.

The results are structured via global achievement scales, ranking scores over a spectrum of high, intermediate, and low benchmarks. The scoring starts at 400, or a basic understanding of mathematics and science, and can go up to 625 points, which implies an advanced understanding of the subjects.

A total of 64 countries took part in the TIMSS 2019 grade 5 study and grade 9 study, with 20 829 pupils across 519 schools studied.

The results were released on December 8, 2020.

Results: Grade 5

The top five ranked countries were Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan (all in East Asia). The five lowest-performing countries were Morocco, Kuwait, South Africa, Pakistan and the Philippines.

South Africa’s 2019 mathematics and science scores for grade 5 are 374 and 324 respectively. In terms of ability levels, 37% of learners demonstrated that they acquired basic mathematical knowledge, and 28% demonstrated that they acquired basic science knowledge.

The South African Government website reports that the Western Cape was the best performing province in South Africa in both Mathematics and Science for grade 5, with a score of 441 for maths, which is 67 points higher than the national average of 374 for mathematics, and 415 for science, 91 points higher than the national average of 324.

Results: Grade 9

With a score of 370, South Africa’s grade 9 science score is beaten by every other country ranked by TIMMS.

Grade 9 mathematics was only slightly better, ranking second from the bottom with 389. Only Morrocco was lower with one point difference of 388.

Per Business Insider SA:

A total of 59% of all learners failed to achieve a low benchmark, basic understanding of mathematics, with 13% reaching an intermediate level, 3% achieving a high benchmark and 1% of pupils classed as advanced.

In grade 9, the Western Cape also came out on top with 441 points in mathematics, 52 points higher than the national average of 389, and 439 in science, 69 points higher than the national average of 370.

Overall, the Western Cape ranks eight places higher than South Africa on the international ranking for mathematics and six places ahead for science.

To summarise the results, which you can read in more detail here, roughly four out of 10 pupils in South Africa demonstrated basic maths and science knowledge.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, per News24, made a fuss over the fact that this was an improvement from 2003 when only one in 10 learners displayed basic knowledge, but it still doesn’t bode well for our education system, and its ability to compete internationally.

A number of factors, including socio-economic circumstances and the quality of schooling offered across class lines, affect the scores.

In other words, this is a problem that needs to be solved on a number of levels, from the ground up, across a range of sectors, if we’re going to equip students with the knowledge and education that they need.

[sources:hrsc&sagov&businessinsidersa&news24]