In the 2011/12 financial years, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) commissioned a School Monitoring Survey of ordinary public schools to monitor progress towards the achievement of some of the goals and indicators set out in the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 and the Delivery Agreement. This was done through the School Monitoring Survey 2011/12 which used a range of indicators aligned with the Sector Plan to measure system performance nationally.

In 2011/2012 the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), commissioned an independent formative evaluation of approved DBE workbooks and textbooks. Selected language and mathematics workbooks for Grade 3, 6 and 9 as well as selected Siyavula textbooks for Grade 10 were evaluated. The focus of the evaluation was on the quality and utilisation of DBE approved workbooks and textbooks in South African public schools.

In 2012/2013, the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) in the Presidency, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) commissioned an Impact Evaluation of the Grade R programme. The evaluation was based on a complex statistical method used to estimate the effect of having attended Grade R on learning outcomes later in primary school.

The study found an overall positive impact of Grade R on later learning outcomes in both language and mathematics. The estimated benefits were somewhat larger for language than for mathematics, though in both cases the size of the effects were fairly small relative to what one might have hoped to see. In some schools Grade R has contributed towards better learning, but in other schools it has not. Clearly one cannot take it for granted that Grade R is always quality Grade R. An improvement plan based on recommendations from the report has already been approved by the Department of Basic Education.

The Mind the Gap study guides for Grade 12 learners were developed and distributed in 2012 in an effort to assist Grade 12 learners to mind-the-gap between failing and passing, by bridging-the-gap in learners’ understanding of commonly tested concepts so candidates can pass the National Senior Certificate (NSC).  A Randomised Control Trial (RCT) was conducted in 2012 in an effort to measure the impact of the study guides on performance in the NSC. The report on the evaluation is provided below

This report sets out the key trends in the macro-indicators for the education sector in South Africa. The report aims to give policy-makers, researchers and implementers a sense of the trajectory of the system over the past decade or more, with the intention of providing both a summary of the past and a guide for the future.

The report mostly uses indicators that are widely used internationally. The indicators are “macro”-indicators in the sense that generally, they do not delve deeper into classroom process issues or school-level service delivery issues.

The General Household Survey (GHS) is a sample survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) in approximately 30 000 Households. This survey is conducted annually in July. The GHS provides a platform for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to assess progress made with regards to access, quality, efficiency, equity and expenditure goals in schooling. It furthermore provides an opportunity to verify data collected through other mechanisms.

This report reflects on patterns in access to schooling in South Africa while applying a framework of internal efficiency. The report does not comprehensively cover all sources of inefficiency in the system; neither does it contain cost-effectiveness analysis of specific educational interventions or policies. Rather, the report focuses on the ways in which learners enter and then progress through the system. This includes internal system inefficiencies caused by sub-optimal school entry patterns, grade repetition practices and drop-out patterns.

This report is South Africa’s combined second, third and fourth report on measures taken between 1998 and 2013 in furtherance of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography, and on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Research was conducted in 2010 on the language policy for schools which is guided by principles derived from the Constitution and the South African Schools Act (SASA). The purpose was to provide a trend analysis of language data for the period 1997/98 to 2007 in order to determine patterns and shifts in the status of the language in schools over time, and to provide a useful basis for assessing the effectiveness of policy implementation.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with its Member States including South Africa, developed the General Education Quality Diagnostic Analysis and Monitoring Framework (GEQAF) to strengthen national capacity in assessing education systems based on local knowledge and expertise. The GEQAF contains 15 Analytical Tools covering all key aspects of an education system taking into account the interdependencies and linkages between the various aspects. The guideline and the South African country report are provided below.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were established through the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The goals range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education. There are two goals that have implications for education, Goal 2 and 3. Selected country reports for the MDG’s are provided below.

Education for All (EFA) is a global initiative, launched 20 years ago, at the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. It is led by the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in partnership with governments, development agencies, civil society, non-governmental organisations and the media.

The EFA Framework for Action sets out 6 global goals which member countries report on. South African country reports are provided below.