Abstract
This chapter uses data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to describe the achievement patterns of Grade 9 learners in South Africa from 1995 to 2015. Achievement continued to be low and unequal, but had improved by 0.9 of a standard deviation over this period. This is an improvement of approximately four grade levels. The largest improvement was at the lower end of the achievement spectrum. The achievement gap between learners attending no-fee and fee-paying schools was one standard deviation. We then examined the continuities and discontinuities from home to school with regard to resources, educational climate and practices using Grade 5 TIMSS data. In general, the availability of resources and learning activities in learners’ homes was low and unequal, with learners in fee-paying schools enjoying higher levels of resources and home educational activities. This inequality continues into schools. However, the school climate and environment is far from optimal in both school types. We conclude that in order to decrease the inequalities in opportunities and achievement gaps, social protection policies must be continued in order to improve the home and school conditions of learners in no-fee schools. Further, school climate, learning culture and pedagogical inputs must be improved for all learners so that achievement levels are raised.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
We acknowledge the importance of reading and literacy skills. These are dealt with in the Chaps. 8 and 9.
- 2.
- 3.
The TIMSS CenterPoint is 500 and the standard deviation is 100.
- 4.
Standard Error (SE) is a measure of the statistical accuracy of an estimate.
- 5.
Of the five lowest achieving countries, the only country with a statistically different score to that of South Africa was Botswana
- 6.
The percentile graph plots the trend in mathematics achievement distribution between the bottom and upper ends at the 5th and 95th percentile at the Grade 8 level (1995, 1999, 2003) and at the Grade 9 level (2003, 2011,2015).
- 7.
Learners have some knowledge of whole numbers and basic graphs.
- 8.
The standard deviation (SD) measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean.
- 9.
The TIMSS 2015 Grade 9 sample comprised of 65% learners who attended public no-fee schools and 35% who pay fees (31% in public fee-paying and 4% in independent schools).
- 10.
The difference between Grade 8 and 9 scores in TIMSS 2003 was 21 points (see Reddy 2006). We estimate with the learning gains over time, the score difference between Grade 8 and 9 is around 25 TIMSS points.
- 11.
Notwithstanding that this is self-reported data from six years ago and the reported extent of the activities cannot be triangulated, these educational activity patterns still provides useful insights into home educational activities.
- 12.
A Home Resources for Learning Index was constructed from the number of books in the home, number of home study supports and the highest level of education for either parent.
References
Bergbauer, A. (2016). The role of non-conventional inputs in South African education: An analysis of prePIRLS 2011. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch.
Carneiro, P., Meghir, C., & Parey, M. (2013). Maternal education, home environments, and the development of children and adolescents. Journal of the European Economic Association, 11(suppl_1), 123–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-4774.2012.01096.x
Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., Lochner, L., & Masterov, D. V. (2006). Chapter 12 interpreting the evidence on life cycle skill formation. In E. Hanushek & F. Welch (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of education (Vol. 1, pp. 697–812). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1574-0692(06)01012-9
Department of Basic education. (2011). Curriculum and assessment policy statements: Mathematics grades (pp. 7–9). Pretoria: Government Printers.
Fiske, E. B., & Ladd, H. F. (2004). Elusive equity: Education reform in post-apartheid South Africa. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Howie, S., Van Staden, S., Tshele, M., Dowse, C., & Zimmerman, L. (2017). Progress in international reading literacy study 2016. South African Children’s Reading Literacy Achievement. Summary Report. Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Pretoria.
Isdale, K., Reddy, V., Juan, A., & Arends, F. (2017). TIMSS 2015 grade 5 national report: Understanding mathematics achievement amongst Grade 5 learners in South Africa. https://doi.org/20.500.11910/11847
Lanzi, D. (2007). Capabilities, human capital and education. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 36(3), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.005
Melhuish, E. C., Phan, M. B., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2008). Effects of the home learning environment and preschool center experience upon literacy and numeracy development in early primary school. Journal of Social Issues, 64(1), 95–114.
Mullis, I. V. S., & Martin, M. O. (Eds.). (2013). TIMSS 2015 assessment frameworks. TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College.
Mullis, I. V., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., & Hooper, M. (2016). TIMSS 2015 international results in mathematics. Boston: Boston College.
Murugan, A., & Rajoo, L. (2013). Students’ perceptions of mathematics classroom environment and mathematics achievement: A study in Sipitang, Sabah, Malaysia. In International Conference on Social Science Research, Malaysia.
National Planning Commission. (2012). National development plan 2030: Our future–make it work. Pretoria: The Presidency.
Oosthuizen, M., & Bhorat, H. (2006). Educational outcomes in South Africa: A production function approach. In Canada: Secretariat for Institutional Support for Economic Research in Africa Working Paper No. 2006/05.
Reddy, V. (2006). Mathematics and science achievement at South African schools in TIMSS 2003. HSRC Press.
Reddy, V., Prinsloo, C., Arends, F., Visser M (2012) Highlights from TIMSS 2011: The South African perspective. Pretoria: HRSC Press https://doi.org/20.500.11910/2877
Reddy, V., Zuze, T. L., Visser, M., Winnaar, L., Juan, A., Prinsloo, C. H., Arends, F., & Rogers, S. (2015). Beyond benchmarks: What twenty years of TIMSS data tell us about South African education. HSRC Press. https://doi.org/20.500.11910/2004
Reddy, V., Bhorat, H., Powell, M., Visser, M. M., & Arends, F. (2016a). Skills supply and demand in South Africa. https://doi.org/20.500.11910/10186
Reddy, V., Visser, M., Winnaar, L., Arends, F., Juan, A. L., Prinsloo, C., & Isdale, K. (2016b). TIMSS 2015: Highlights of mathematics and science achievement of grade 9 South African learners. https://doi.org/20.500.11910/10673
Reynolds, A. J., & Walberg, H. J. (1991). A structural model of science achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(1), 97.
Shonkoff, J. P., Phillips, D. A., & National Research Council. (2000). The developing brain. In D. A. Phillips & J. P. Shonkoff (Eds.), From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research, socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417–453. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075003417
Spaull, N., Vvan der Berg, S., Wills, G., Gustafsson, M., & Kotzé, J. (2016). Laying firm foundations: Getting reading right. SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 2973191. Rochester: Social Science Research Network.
Statistics South Africa. (2017). Education series volume III: Educational enrolment and achievement, 2016. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa.
Stewart, F. (2002). Horizontal inequalities as a source of conflict. In F. O. Hampson & D. Malone (Eds.), From reaction to conflict prevention: Opportunities for the UN system (pp. 105–136). Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
UNDP. (2013). Humanity divided: Confronting inequality in developing countries. New York: UNDP.
Van der Berg, S. (2008). How effective are poor schools? Poverty and educational outcomes in South Africa. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 34(3), 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2008.07.005
Van Staden, S. (2016). Language and grade 4 reading literacy achievement in prePIRLS 2011. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch, ReSEP Working Paper Series 03/2016.
Woolard, I., Harttgen, K., & Klasen, S. (2011). The history and impact of social security in South Africa: Experiences and lessons. Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d’études du développement 32(4), 357–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2011.647654
Zuze, L., Reddy, V., Winnaar, L., & Govender, A. (2017). TIMSS 2015 grade 9 national report. HSRC Press: Cape Town.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Reddy, V., Juan, A., Isdale, K., Fongwa, S. (2019). Mathematics Achievement and the Inequality Gap: TIMSS 1995 to 2015. In: Spaull, N., Jansen, J. (eds) South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality. Policy Implications of Research in Education, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18811-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18811-5_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18810-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18811-5
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)