1. Each education institution under the control of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is hereby provided with an analysis of the results obtained by its candidates in the 2004 Senior Certificate examination.
2. During the marking process in December, the marks obtained by each candidate in each question in each question paper were captured in order to enable the WCED to provide this analysis to each school, and to identify possible errors, such as when candidates answer too many questions or an incorrect combination of questions.
3. These provincial statistics will be utilised by examining panels to assess the quality and appropriateness of each of the questions and the general standard of the question papers.
4. The statistics should also assist principals in their task of assuring the quality of the work done in their schools. Principals are advised to make copies of the statistics, keep one copy for their own use, and give a copy to each subject head or teacher responsible for the subject in their schools.
5. These statistics indicate the following in respect of individual schools:

  • The percentage above or below the provincial average that its candidates scored for each question. A positive figure indicates that the average percentage was above the provincial average, while a negative figure indicates an average percentage of below the provincial average.

  • The number of candidates who attempted that particular question

  • The deviation in the average percentage between what the candidates scored in the paper as a whole and the average for the province. This appears in the last column.

  • An indication as to which sections of the syllabus were well answered, which were omitted, and which were badly answered.
6. The teachers involved in each subject should discuss the statistics among themselves, identify strong and weak points, and then use this information to draw up a plan of action for the subject for the coming year.
7. Where serious problems are identified in a subject, subject heads must contact curriculum advisers for assistance. They are also encouraged to involve themselves and the teachers concerned in subject groupings in their region, and to assist the relevant curriculum advisers to arrange workshops to cover sections of the syllabus in which a number of schools have fared badly. Where the same sections have been identified as having been answered well by a particular school, subject heads can identify teachers to run these workshops.
8. The WCED is confident that principals and teachers will derive benefit from these statistics and that this will lead to an improvement in the quality of teaching and learning in the Western Cape.


SIGNED: J.P. RAULT-SMITH
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2005:01:19


The documents, referred to in this minute were sent to schools.