Session Information
09 SES 11 C, Evaluation Policies, Monitoring and Assessments
Paper Session
Contribution
Monitoring education is a way in which to formally regulate levels of quality in education, it provides a mechanism to hold stakeholders accountable and it provides the impetus for ongoing improvement. Given the amount of financial and human resources, which is put into education, the effects of education should be considered (Feinstein & Peck, 2008, Sammons, 2006). Within a developing world context, such as South Africa, the challenge that has come with increasing access to education is also improving the quality of education, equipping pupils with skills and providing support so that the disadvantaged and poor will not remain this way (Naker, 2007). The purpose of the article is to explore gains made as part of an evaluation of the feedback as part of a school-based monitoring system implemented in primary schools. With regard to educational policies schools are expected to undertake self-evaluation as part of the Integrated Quality Management System. South Africa with its Apartheid past, has left many schools, especially disadvantaged schools, with little capacity and skill to monitor education. While the government has provided additional support to these schools there still appears to be challenges with regard to management of the schools and the culture of teaching and learning.
As schools are expected to undertake self-evaluation and do experience some difficulty in terms of monitoring learner performance additional tools are vital to empower schools. In 2003 the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) embarked on a project to explore the validity of a monitoring system developed in the United Kingdom and its applicability for the South African context. As a result a school-based monitoring system was adapted and implemented in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. This monitoring system consists of baseline and follow-up assessments at Grade 1. Comprehensive feedback on individual learners is given to schools. The research question address in this paper is: To what extent do Grade 1 learners make academic gains over time as part of the monitoring and feedback system?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Bond, T. G., & Fox, C. M. (2007). Applying the Rasch model: Fundamental measurement in the human sciences (2nd ed.). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Feinstein, L., & Peck, S. C. (2008). Unexpected pathways through education: Why do some students not succeed in school and what helps others beat the odd? Journal of Social Issues, 64 (1), 1-20. Hox, J.J. (2010). Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge. Naker, D. (2007). What is a good school? Imagining beyond the limits of today to create a better tomorrow. Kampala: Raising Voices. Sammons, P. (2006). School effectiveness and equity: Making connections. Keynote presented at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), Fort Lauderdale, United States of America. Snijders, T., & Bosker, R. (1999). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modelling. London: Sage Publications. Wolfe, E. W. (2004). Equating and item banking with the Rasch model. In E. V. Smith & R. M. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to Rasch measurement (pp. 366 – 390). Maple Grove: JAM Press.
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