1. Every education institution that writes the National Senior Certificate Examinations through the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is hereby provided with an analysis of the results obtained by its candidates in the 2010 National Senior Certificate examination.
2. During the marking process in December, the marks obtained by each candidate were captured per question for each question paper in order to enable the WCED to provide this analysis to individual schools.
3. Curriculum planners and advisers will be provided with statistics for the province and their districts respectively so that they can devise strategies to assist teachers to deal with difficult aspects of the curriculum.
4. Importantly, this detailed analysis enables each school to identify where their learners did well and where they struggled with questions.
5. The statistics should also assist principals in their task of assuring the quality of the work done in their schools.
6. These statistics indicate the following in respect of individual schools:

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

  • The number of candidates who attempted each 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.
7. The teachers involved in each subject should discuss the statistics among themselves, identify strengths, weaknesses and areas of concern, and then use this information to draw up a plan of action for the subject for 2011.
8. 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 area. Teachers whose learners have achieved particular success in specific questions may be requested by curriculum advisers to share the secrets of their success with schools that have fared badly.
9. The WCED is confident that principals, teachers and curriculum advisors 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.
10. Principals are requested to bring the contents of this minute to the attention of the staff, parents and learners.


SIGNED: BK SCHREUDER
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2011:01:04