1. Grade 9 promotions are based on the requirements stipulated in the GET Assessment Policy, as found in Government Gazette No. 29626 of 12 February 2007.
2. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will again use the Grade 9 Excel results-capturing program to capture all the Grade 9 results for the national data bank. The WCED's Grade 9 Excel program replaces the computerised sheets ("lotto sheets") of the past. It is compulsory for all schools to submit the 2008 Grade 9 data in this Excel format.
3. Using past experience and valued feedback from WCED teachers, both the 2008 Excel program and the result-capturing process has been improved
4. Roles and responsibilities in the processes
4.1 Teachers
4.1.1 Teachers must ensure that all the requirements for prescribed Grade 9 assessment tasks have been met.
4.1.2 Evidence of intervention and support must be available for the promotion decision sessions.
4.1.3 A representative sample (3%) of learners' work must be moderated for both the CASS and the CTA components of the Grade 9 results (Gazette 29626).
4.1.4 Where applicable, teachers must update learners' registration details before capturing results and must continue updating learners' registration details until the final results have been submitted to the WCED.
4.2 School principals
4.2.1 Results must be properly moderated, checked for correctness and verified.
4.2.2 Assessment challenges by learners must be discussed and decided upon individually by the school management team.
4.2.3 Once the schedule has been signed, two copies of the signed schedule must be made. It is suggested that schools print hard copies in A3 format. One copy, together with an electronic copy on a CD or memory stick, must be submitted to the circuit manager / IMG adviser. Principals must ensure that the CDs are clearly labelled with all the contact details of the school.
4.2.4 A printed copy of the approved and signed schedule, as well as the final electronic copy, must be safely stored by the school as a permanent record.
4.2.5 Feedback on the Grade 9 results-capturing program and process is highly valued as it will ensure that the WCED can continually improve the system. In this regard, principals and teachers are kindly requested to complete the attached feedback form (Addendum B) and either e-mail or fax it to Ms Heléne van Zyl before 1 December 2008.
4.3 District assessment co-ordinators
4.3.1 District assessment co-ordinators will conduct training sessions with all the relevant role- players on the Excel program and on administering the Grade 9 result-capturing process.
4.3.2 A training manual, with step-by-step instructions, will be issued to officials and teachers at these training sessions.
4.3.3 All queries regarding the Excel program and the administrative process must be directed to the district assessment co-ordinator. Contact details of district assessment co-ordinators and examinations officials are contained in Addendum A of this circular.
4.3.4 District assessment co-ordinators will ensure that all results are submitted by the due date to the Directorate: Examinations Administration.
4.2 Circuit teams
4.4.1 It is recommended that circuit teams conduct regular visits to schools to monitor the Grade 9 assessment and results-capturing process.
4.4.2 The end-of-year schedule must be checked and verified by the circuit manager / IMG adviser or circuit team member. The circuit manager / IMG adviser or designated official will sign the hard copies of the schedules.
4.4.3 All data must be signed and submitted to circuit managers / IMG advisers between 30 November 2008 and 4 December 2008.
4.5 Provincial managers
4.5.1 Provincial managers will capture all the WCED Grade 9 results electronically on a master program - which has exactly the same format as the schools' program - and submit them to the national Department of Education. It will, therefore, not be possible for schools to submit data in any other format than on a memory stick or CD.
4.5.2 Provincial summary reports will be provided to all the districts at the beginning of 2009.
5. Contents of the Grade 9 Excel results-capturing program
  • Step-by-step instructions on how to complete the Excel spreadsheets
  • Recording sheets for all formal assessment tasks for each learning area for the year (The recording sheets include the CTAs [Sections A and B] that will be the formal assessment task for Term 4 as stipulated in Gazette 29626)
  • Formulae for calculating the results of each learner according to the national assessment policy requirements (The Excel program will calculate each learner's results and teachers must not adjust the programmed sheets.)
  • A Grade 9 schedule for each term, as well as an end-of-year schedule (Information from the recording sheets will be automatically transferred to the schedule.)
6. Grade 9 reports

The program has been written in such a way that the information from the schedule can be transferred automatically onto a report for each learner registered on CEMIS. Schools may either use this report card or continue to use their own school report forms, as long as the minimum information, as stipulated in Government Gazette 29626, is included.

7. Recording of Grade 9 results
7.1 Registration of learners on CEMIS

Learner registration cannot be changed in the Excel programme. The program has been developed in such a way that learner registration must be updated on CEMIS before the program is downloaded.

7.2 Managing the process at the school
7.2.1 The "import" function will allow teachers to copy the program and complete it individually (per learning area or per teacher). The program will automatically import results from all the different learning areas into a master folder.
7.2.2 If teachers wish to add new learners or de-register learners, it must be done on CEMIS. The "import" function of the Excel program allows teachers to import marks and new learners into a new (clean) Excel folder. This will take some time and teachers are advised to check learners' registration details carefully before starting with the results-capturing process.
7.3 Downloading the program from the CEMIS website

An easy-to-follow manual, explaining how to download the Excel program from the CEMIS website, will be provided to all trainees during district training sessions.

7.4 Completing and printing of schedules
7.4.1 Once all results have been captured correctly, the green button (a safety measure built into the program) will appear. An end-of-year schedule can then be printed.
7.4.2 This schedule must be submitted to the circuit team and or IMG adviser for approval and signing. If any changes need to be made, they must be done electronically and reprinted before the final schedule can be approved, signed and submitted.
7.5 Promotion decisions

The program will calculate learners' results automatically, but all these results must still be checked and verified by school principals and district officials.

8. Completion of the recording sheets
8.1 Should a learner have been absent for legitimate reasons (with convincing supporting evidence) during any of the assessment opportunities, all the available results obtained through continuous assessment and the CTAs (Section A and Section B) must be considered for promotion purposes. Such arrangements must be recorded in the Remarks column of the promotion schedule. This should be done only in exceptional circumstances.
8.2 A learner who has been absent without valid reasons (without supporting evidence of his or her absence) will be marked absent (A) and the program will not award a mark for the task(s). The learner will be awarded a zero for that particular task. Once again, this should be done only in exceptional circumstances.
9. Support and information
9.1 Any questions about the downloading or use of the program can be directed to your district assessment co-ordinator. (See Addendum A for contact details.)
9.2 Further information is available on the Assessment Website at http://curriculum.pgwc.gov.za/site/21/page/view/


SIGNED: BK SCHREUDER
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2008:08:13

Addendum A  (size: 36 KB)
Addendum B  (size: 41 KB)

Government Gazette 29626 of 12 February 2007:  National Policy on Assessment and Qualifications for schools in the General Education and Training Band (GET)  (size: 947 KB)