IPSU - Session 8 Stellenbosch University
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Transcript of IPSU - Session 8 Stellenbosch University
Equity & Efficiency in South African Primary Schools
A Preliminary Analysis of SACMEQ III South AfricaIPSU - Session 8Stellenbosch University
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• Give background to SA education system
• What are major fault-lines in our education system?
• What is extent of underperformance of SA school system? (Regionally & Internationally)
• What factors drive underperformance of SA school system?
Aims for today
Lucky you!!
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Social Security in SA
2 main components:
1. Occupational (social) insurance • Retirement benefits, some unemployment insurance, medical benefits (for the better
skilled)• Only 40% of the labour force is covered due to high unemployment
2. Social assistance (13.3%)
1. Child Support Grant (CSG) R260/month I. Means test {cannot earn > R2600/month)
2. Old Age Pension (OAP) R1140/monthI. {cannot earn > R3740/month)
3. Disability Grant (DG) R1140/monthI. {cannot earn > R3740/month)
4. {Foster Child Grant R740/month}
Targeting?? Means testing? BIG?
SA’s dualistic school system and labour marketHigh productivity jobs &
incomes• ±10% of labour force – mainly
professional, managerial & skilled jobs • Requires graduates, good quality
matric, or good vocational skills • Historically mainly whites
Low productivity jobs & incomes• Often manual or low skill jobs• Limited or low quality education • Minimum wage can exceed their
productivity
High quality schools• ±10% of schools, mainly ex-white,
but racial composition changed• Produce strong cognitive skills • Teachers well qualified, schools
function well, good assessment, parents involved
Low quality schools• Produce very weak cognitive skills• Teachers less qualified, de-motiva-
ted, many schools dysfunctional, weak assessment, little parental involvement, strong union presence
• Mainly former black (DET) schools
• Big demand for good schools, despite fees
• A few schools cross the divide
• Vocational training
• Affirmative action
• Some talented, motivated or
lucky students manage the
transition
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School’s in SA
Public schools
From: South African Child Gauge 2008/9Available www.ci.org.za
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2) South Africa’s performance in INTERNATIONAL context
Mean Maths score in TIMMS 2003 (Grade 8)
0100200300400500600700
Literacy score in PIRLS 2006
565
500
405
302
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
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Chi
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10
% below low international benchmark (400) in PIRLS 2006 (Gr.4; in SA Gr.5)
1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 15 16 18
34 36 40
46
67 72 74
78
0
20
40
60
80
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Net
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(Fle
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and
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% of SA students exceeding performance at 75th percentile of developed countries (“who would ‘make it’ economically in developed
countries")
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Objections to international comparison:
• It’s wrong to compare SA to OECD countries
• SA is still recovering from apartheid
• SA is underperforming due to poverty
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3) South Africa’s performance in REGIONAL context (SACMEQ)
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• Southern and East African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
• Research capacity & technical skills of educational planners• Conditions of schooling and quality of education • Grade 6 (13 yrs)
• SACMEQ II (SA) - 2000• Schools (169) Teachers (322) Students (3163)
• SACMEQ III (SA) - 2007• Schools (392) Teachers (1163) Students (9083)
• Literacy Test – 55 MCQ• Numeracy Test – 49 MCQ• HIV/AIDS Knowledge test – 86 T/F
• Demographic / Home background / Schooling - 64 Questions
SACMEQ data 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
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SA in regional context?
Malawi
Zambia
Lesotho
Mozambique
Uganda
South Afric
a
Namibia
Zimbab
we
SACMEQ
III
Botswan
a
Zanzib
arKen
ya
Swazi
land
Mauriti
us
Seych
elles
Tanzan
ia300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
Mean Reading & Maths (SACMEQ III)
Mean - ReadingMean - Maths
Mea
n Re
adin
g/M
aths
Sco
re
R - 10th/15 M – 8th/15
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Performance low AND unequal
Zambia
South Afric
a
Malawi
Lesotho
Mozambique
Namibia
Uganda
Zimbab
we
Botswan
a
SACMEQ
III
Zanzib
ar
Seychell
es
Mauriti
usKen
ya
Swazi
land
Tanzan
ia300
350
400
450
500
550
600
Mean reading score for the poorest 25% of students
Mea
n re
adin
g sc
ore
Malawi
Zambia
Lesotho
Uganda
Mozambique
Namibia
SACMEQ
III
Swazi
land
Zanzib
ar
Botswan
a
Zimbab
weKen
ya
South Afri
ca
Tanzan
ia
Seych
elles
Mauriti
us300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
Mean reading score for the wealthiest 25% of students
Mea
n re
adin
g sc
ore
14th/15
4th/15 NER?
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Placing SA in regional context
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Placing SA in regional context
Rural13th /15
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Placing SA in regional context
Urban9th /15
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3) Not only does SA’s school system perform poorly, it is also highly unequal
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SA in regional context
WCA
LIM
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Descriptive analysis
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Competency Levels
020
4060
8010
0P
erce
nt
5 4 3 2 1Quintiles of School Socio-economics Status
L1 - Pre Numeracy L2 - Emergent Numeracy
L3 - Basic Numeracy L4 - Beginning Numeracy
L5 - Competent Numeracy L6 - Mathematically Skilled
L7 - Concrete Problem Solving L8 - Abstract Problem Solving
Maths Competency Levels
020
4060
8010
0
Per
cent
5 4 3 2 1Quintiles of School Socio-economic Status
L1 - Pre Reading L2 - Emergent Reading
L3 - Basic Reading L4 - Reading for Meaning
L5 - Interpretive Reading L6 - Inferential Reading
L7 - Analytical Reading L8 - Critical Reading
Reading Competency Levels
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
Cum
ulat
ive
Pro
babi
lity
0 2 4 6 8Reading competency Levels 1-8
CDF School SES Quintile 1 CDF School SES Quintile 2CDF School SES Quintile 3 CDF School SES Quintile 4CDF School SES Quintile 5
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
Cum
ulat
ive
Pro
babi
lity
0 2 4 6 8Maths competency Levels 1-8
CDF School SES Quintile 1 CDF School SES Quintile 2CDF School SES Quintile 3 CDF School SES Quintile 4CDF School SES Quintile 5
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Descriptive analysis
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020
4060
8010
0P
erce
nt
WCA GTN NCA NWP FST MPU KZN ECA LMPProvinces
L1 - Pre Reading L2 - Emergent Reading
L3 - Basic Reading L4 - Reading for Meaning
L5 - Interpretive Reading L6 - Inferential Reading
L7 - Analytical Reading L8 - Critical Reading
Reading Competency Levels
020
4060
8010
0
Per
cent
WCA GTN NCA FST NWP KZN MPU ECA LMPProvinces
L1 - Pre Numeracy L2 - Emergent Numeracy
L3 - Basic Numeracy L4 - Beginning Numeracy
L5 - Competent Numeracy L6 - Mathematically Skilled
L7 - Concrete Problem Solving L8 - Abstract Problem Solving
Maths Competency Levels 1- 8
020
4060
8010
0
Per
cent
LARGE CITY SMALLTOWN RURAL ISOLATEDSchool Location
L1 - Pre Numeracy L2 - Emergent Numeracy
L3 - Basic Numeracy L4 - Beginning Numeracy
L5 - Competent Numeracy L6 - Mathematically Skilled
L7 - Concrete Problem Solving L8 - Abstract Problem Solving
Maths Competency Levels
020
4060
8010
0
Per
cent
LARGE CITY SMALLTOWN RURAL ISOLATEDSchool Location
L1 - Pre Reading L2 - Emergent Reading
L3 - Basic Reading L4 - Reading for Meaning
L5 - Interpretive Reading L6 - Inferential Reading
L7 - Analytical Reading L8 - Critical Reading
Reading Competency Levels
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Viva Mzansi
• Grade 6 13 years olds• Complete and utter disgrace – government failure on a
national scale• Wholesale failure of the government to provide the most basic
tool needed for mobility, or even dignified living.
27.2% 40.2%
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
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Primary school: PIRLS (Gr 5) reading scores by school type
0.0
01.0
02.0
03.0
04.0
05kd
ensi
ty re
adin
g te
st s
core
0 200 400 600 800reading test score
African language schools English/Afrikaans schools
NB correlation between race and wealth
Blacks Coloureds Indians Whites Total 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Pass Matric Maths passes Endorsements HG Maths passes A-aggregates
Secondary school: Matriculants’ performance by race, 2007
Through-put – racial disparities
Proportion of 16-17 years-olds who have completed Grade 9
Source: General Household Survey 2009; own analysis
Black Coloured Indian/Asian White SA0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
58%
70%
94%90%
62%
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Multivariate analysis
• svy regressions• Stratification (Province)• Clustering (School)
• Education production function approach• Explaining variation in Numeracy and Literacy
• Sample selection issues around ‘teacher test-score’
• Reading – of 498, 83 (17%) did not write• Maths – of 498, 97 (20%) did not write• Run regressions with & without teacher test-score
variable• (Not shown here)
• Opportunity we can’t pass up
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
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Results?
• Frequency of English spoken at home
• Caveat – SACMEQ III tests conducted in English/Afrikaans (LOLT?)
• Socioeconomic Status (SES)• MCA 31 possession questions • Non-linear – wealth has a greater
effect at high levels of wealth• SSES > SES• SSES
• Preschool education
• Frequency of grade repetition
• Frequency of homework • +++ Once/Twice per week or ‘most
days’
• Reading Textbook availability
With
in p
olicy
co
ntro
l
{ +- Mean 510 ; SD 100 }
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Results (cont.)
• Teacher knowledge?
• Intuition? Common sense?
• Binding constraints
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Concluding points
Specifically• Provide a more nuanced picture of national/provincial performance• Identified 5 correlates with math/reading performance
1. Frequency of English spoken at home2. SES & SSES3. Preschool education4. Grade repetition5. Homework6. Reading textbook
• Surprisingly low impact of teacher knowledge (?) More research needed.
More generally:• Confirming previous studies: SA’s performance is disgracefully
poor and highly unequal
• If this data is legitimate (and we think it is – c.f. ANA’s) why aren’t people striking?!
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Thank you & Questions?
350
.1.2
.3.4
Den
sity
400
500
600
700
Stu
dent
Rea
ding
/Mat
h sc
ore
-2 -1 0 1 2SES
Lowess curve Reading Lowess curve MathsKernel Density of SES
SACMEQ I I I Sout h Af rica
Lowess curve explaining Reading/Math Scores using SES
Figure 7
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Provinces % Non-readers % Non-numerateEastern Cape 38.6 50.3Freestate 22.3 38.1Gauteng 11.6 20.5KwaZulu-Natal 28.4 44Limpopo 49 60.6Mpumalanga 28.4 43.8Northern Cape 21.4 37.1North West 21.9 38.1Western Cape 5.1 15Total 27.2 40.2
Quintiles of School SES % Non-readers % Non-numerateQuintile 1 44.7 58.7Quintile 2 34.4 48.9Quintile 3 30.4 47.4Quintile 4 20.1 35.4Quintile 5 1.4 4.6Total 27.2 40.2
School Location % Non-readers % Non-numerateIsolated 38.8 56.2Rural 41.3 55.2Small town 16.7 32.9Large city 11.4 20.7Total 27.2 40.2