An addendum to the policy document, the National Senior Certificate: A qualification at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), regarding the National Protocol for Assessment (Grades R - 12), published by means of Government Notice No.1267 in Government Gazette No.
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The National Protocol for Recording and Reporting standardises the recording and reporting processes for schools (Grades R - 12) within the framework of the National Curriculum Statements for Grades R - 9 & 10 - 12. It also provides a regulatory framework for the management of school assessment records and basic requirements for learner profiles, teacher portfolios, report cards, record sheets and schedules.
This protocol should be read with the following national regulatory frameworks and guidelines: the National Curriculum Statement Grades R - 9 (2002) and Grades 10 - 12 (2004), Education White Paper 6 (Special Needs Education, 2001), Language-in-Education Policy (1997), South African Schools Act (1996) and Assessment Guidelines. Assessment Guidelines provide information and direction on the implementation of this protocol. These guidelines also provide exemplars that focus on practical implications of this protocol for teachers and schools.
This protocol provides requirements and examples for the design of learner profiles, teacher portfolios, report cards, record sheets and schedules. The Department of Education, the Provincial Departments of Education and schools are responsible for developing a recording and reporting system that is aligned with the requirements specified.
The Department of Education will design all learner profiles and schedules and determine the criteria for record sheets and report cards. The Provincial Departments of Education will provide schools with pre-printed learner profiles and schedules. Schools will develop record sheets and report cards using the specified criteria. The security of the learner profiles and the updating of required information in the learner profiles rest with the school management.
Assessment is a process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information to assist teachers, parents and other stakeholders in making decisions about the progress of learners. The National Curriculum Statement is the formal curriculum in South African schools. As such the National Curriculum Statement provides a framework for assessment in Grades R - 12 which is based on the principles of outcomes-based education.
Classroom assessment should provide an indication of learner achievement in the most effective and efficient manner by ensuring that adequate evidence of achievement is collected using various forms of assessment. The intention of this protocol is to regulate how evidence of learner performance is recorded and reported.
Classroom assessment should be both informal and formal. In both cases regular feedback should be provided to learners to enhance the learning experience.
Informal or daily assessment is the monitoring of learners' progress. This is done through observations, discussions, learner-teacher conferences, informal classroom interactions, etc. Informal assessment may be as simple as stopping during the lesson to observe learners or to discuss with the learners how learning is progressing. Informal or daily assessment should be used to provide feedback to the learners and to improve teaching.
Formal assessment provides teachers with a systematic way of evaluating how well learners are progressing in a grade and in a particular Learning Programme/ Learning Area/ Subject. Examples of formal assessments include projects, oral presentations, demonstrations, performances, tests, examinations, practical demonstrations, etc.
The forms of assessment used should be appropriate to the age and the developmental level of the learners in the phase. The assessment tasks should be carefully designed to cover the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards of the Learning Programme/ Learning Area / Subject. The design of these tasks should therefore ensure that a variety of skills are assessed. Refer to the Assessment Guidelines for examples of tasks.
Progression (Grades R-8) and promotion (Grades 9-12) of learners to the next grade should be based on recorded evidence in formal assessment tasks. This means that those tasks that are used for formal assessment are recorded and should be used to decide whether a learner should progress or be promoted to the next grade. These requirements are indicated in paragraphs 18(2)(a), 19(3)(a), 20(2)(a), 20(3)(b), 21(2)(a) and 21(3)(a).
Teachers are required to record learner performance in all formal assessment tasks. They are not required to record performance in informal or daily assessment tasks. Teachers may however, choose to record performance in informal or daily assessment tasks in some cases to support the teaching and learning process.
The teacher must submit the annual formal programme of assessment to the School Management Team (SMT) before the start of the school year. This will be used to draw up a school assessment plan in each grade. The school assessment plan should be provided to learners and parents in the first week of the first term.
Recording is a process in which the teacher documents the level of a learner's performance. In South African schools, this should indicate the progress towards the achievement of outcomes set in the National Curriculum Statement. Records of learner performance should provide evidence of the learner's conceptual progression within a grade and her/ his readiness to progress to the next grade. Records of learner performance should also be used to verify the progress made by teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process. Records should be used to monitor learning and to plan ahead.
Reporting is a process of communicating learner performance to learners, parents, schools and the other stakeholders such as the employers, tertiary institutions, etc. Learner performance can be reported in a number of ways. These include report cards, parents' meetings, school visitation days, parentteacher conferences, phone calls, letters, class or school newsletters, etc.
provide learners with regular feedback - this feedback should be developmental in purpose.
inform parent(s)/guardian(s) on the progress of the individual learner.
give information to schools and districts or regional offices on the current level of performance of learners.
inform intervention strategies.
The language in which recording and reporting is done should be in accordance with the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) as informed by the Language-in-Education Policy. In the case of dual medium schools, one of the languages used as LoLT should be utilised for reporting purposes, while the language of recording should be any of the languages used for learning and teaching.
Learning Outcomes (LOs) and Assessment Standards (ASs) should be used to inform the planning and development of assessment tasks. However, recording and reporting of learner performance is against the assessment task and not the Learning Outcomes.
Teachers should show in their portfolios that they have covered all Learning Outcomes in the formal tasks set.
National codes and/or marks, percentages and comments can be used for recording and reporting purposes.
Foundation Phase (Grades R - 3): Record and report in national codes and their descriptors.
Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6): Record and report in national codes and their descriptors and percentages.
Senior Phase (Grades 7 - 9): Record and report in national codes and their descriptors or percentages.
Grades 10 - 12: Record in marks and report in percentages.
The schedule and the report card should indicate the overall level of performance of a learner.
In the case of Languages or the Literacy Learning Programme, each language that the learner offers should be recorded and reported on separately according to the different levels on which they are offered. For example, Home Language - English, First Additional Language - IsiXhosa, Second Additional Language - Afrikaans.
The number of formal assessment tasks to be recorded in each phase is provided in paragraphs 18(2)(a), 19(3)(a), 20(2)(a), 20(3)(b), 21(2)(a) and 21(3)(a).
The recorded pieces of evidence should reflect a variety of forms of assessment. More information on this is provided in the Assessment Guidelines.
Teachers must report regularly to learners and parents on the progress of learners. Schools are required to provide feedback to parents on the programme of assessment using a formal reporting tool such as a report card. In addition to the report cards, other reporting mechanisms such as parents' meetings, school visitation days, parent-teacher conferences, phone calls, letters, class or school newsletter, etc. may be used. The school will determine the format of these reporting strategies.
The national codes and their descriptors provided in Table 1 should be used for recording and reporting learner performance in the Foundation Phase (Grades R - 3). Comments should be used to describe learner performance.
In the Foundation Phase, the recording and reporting of learner performance should be against the three Learning Programmes offered, that is Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills. In the main, assessment tasks for the three Learning Programmes in the Foundation Phase will be developed against the Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Standards defined in the Languages, Mathematics and Life Orientation Learning Areas respectively. The Learning Outcomes of the other five Learning Areas should be planned for, taught and assessed in an integrated manner within the three Learning Programmes and should not be recorded separately.
3 are set out in Table 2 below. This also gives the number of assessment tasks per Learning Programme required in the Foundation Phase.
Life Skills (Life Orientation) 1 1 1 1 4 19.
The national codes together with either percentages or descriptors provided in Table 3 should be used for recording and reporting learner performance in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6). Comments should be used to describe learner performance.
In the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6), the recording and reporting of learner performance in the formal assessment tasks should be against the eight Learning Areas prescribed in the National Curriculum Statement for Grades R - 9.
The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grades 4 - 6 are set out in Table 4. This also gives the number of recordings per Learning Area required in the Intermediate Phase. Teachers should note that the Programme of Assessment should be integrated in the development of the Learning Programme, Work Schedule and the Lesson Plan.
Arts and Culture 1 1 1 1 4 20.
The national codes together with either the descriptors or percentages provided in Table 5 should be used for recording and reporting learner performance in Grades 7 - 9. Comments should be used to qualify learner performance.
The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grades 7 and 8 are set out in Table 6 below which gives the number of recordings per Learning Area required in the two grades. Teachers should note that the Programme of Assessment should be integrated in the development of the Learning Programme, Work Schedule and the Lesson Plan.
In Grade 9 the internal Programme of Assessment constitutes 75% of the final result of the learners and evidence of learners' work in these tasks should be easily located for moderation purposes. The external Common Tasks for Assessment (CTA) in Grade 9 count 25% of the final assessment and make up the assessment tasks for term 4.
The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grade 9 are set out in Table 7 below which gives the number of recordings per Learning Area required in the grade.
In Grades 7 - 9 the recording and reporting of learner performance in the formal assessment tasks should be against the Learning Areas prescribed in the National Curriculum Statement for Grades R - 9.
The national codes and related percentages to be used for recording and reporting learner performance in Grades 10 - 12 are provided in Table 8 below. Comments should be used to describe learner performance.
In Grades 10 - 12 the recording and reporting of learner performance in the formal assessment tasks should be against the Subjects prescribed in the National Curriculum Statement for Grades 10 - 12.
The requirements for formal recorded assessment for Grades 10 and 11 are summarised in Table 9. The total number of assessment tasks makes up the Programme of Assessment by subject in Grades 10 and 11.
If one or two of the subjects chosen for subject choices 1, 2 or 3 include a Language, the number of tasks indicated for Languages 1 and 2 at Home Language (HL) and First Additional Language (FAL) are still applicable. Learners who opt for a Second Additional Language are required to complete 13 tasks in total: 4 tasks in term 1 and 3 tasks in each of terms 2, 3 and 4.
In Grade 12 all subjects include an internal assessment component, which counts 25% of the final assessment mark. This excludes Life Orientation where the internal assessment component counts 100% of the final assessment mark. The requirements of the internal Programme of Assessment for Grades 12 are summarised in Table 10 below.
# The number of internal tasks per subject differs from 6 to 7 as specified in Section 3 of the Subject Assessment Guidelines.
If one or two of the subjects chosen for subject choices 1, 2 or 3 include a Language, the number of tasks indicated for Languages 1 and 2 at Home Language (HL) and First Additional Language (FAL) are still applicable. Learners who opt for a Second Additional Language are required to complete 12 tasks in total: 5 tasks in term 1, 4 tasks in term 2 and 3 tasks in term 3.
The external assessment component for Grade 12 counts 75% of the final assessment. In certain subjects a practical assessment component may contribute 25% to the external component. Guidelines for the external examinations are provided in Section 3 of the Subject Assessment Guidelines.
All teachers are expected to keep a portfolio containing all documents related to assessment. It is teachers' responsibility to ensure that the information in their assessment portfolios is kept up to date.
A teacher assessment portfolio may be a file, a folder, a box, or any other suitable storage system.
Teachers' portfolios should contain the tasks for assessment as well as the planning that informs the development of these tasks and the records of assessment of the formal tasks.
Teachers should as part of their planning provide an indication of the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards assessed in each task. Examples of how this should be undertaken are provided in the Assessment Guidelines.
The formally recorded assessment tasks should be clearly marked or indicated in the teacher's portfolio. Stickers, coloured paper, etc. may be used for this purpose.
Teachers' portfolios should be available on request at all times for moderation and accountability purposes.
The assessment records that should be developed and kept at school are record sheets, schedules, teacher portfolios, learner profiles, report cards and schedules. The management, maintenance and the safety of the learner profiles, schedules and report cards is the responsibility of the school management. The management and maintenance of the record sheets and the teacher portfolio is the responsibility of every teacher.
Teachers are expected to keep an efficient and current record of the learners' progress. It is expected that carefully compiled records and/or evidence of learner performance be maintained to justify the final rating a learner receives at the end of the year. Teachers are expected to keep current records of learners' progress electronically/in files/books/folders or any other form the school has agreed on.
Comments for support purposes when and where appropriate.
The record sheets should be used to compile a schedule that will in turn be used to compile reports once a term. Schools should therefore develop Record Sheets using the criteria specified in paragraph 29(1).
The National Curriculum Statement (Grade R - 12) states that formal report cards should be sent to parents once a term. The report cards must provide a clear holistic picture of the learner's achievements in different Learning Programmes/ Learning Areas/ Subjects.
A report card is an official document that is used to give feedback to parents on the achievement of learners. Schools should ensure that there are no errors, erasures or corrections that will compromise the legal status of the report cards. The school management team is responsible to ensure that reports issued to learners do not contain any errors.
Learner performance for a term should be reflected on the report card for that term. The end-of-year report card should indicate cumulative learner performance for the year.
The achievement rating in a report card should be indicated by a combination of national codes, percentages and comments. The national codes and percentages should be in accordance with the stipulations mentioned in paragraph 17(1)(d). The comments should provide more information on the strengths and developmental needs of the learners.
Personal details: Name of the learner, grade and class of the learners, date of birth, school attendance profile.
Official school details: Year and term, name of the school, date, signature and comment of parent or guardian, teacher and principal, dates of closing and opening of school, school stamp, explanation of the codes of the national coding system.
Performance details: A national code and /or a percentage indicating the level of performance per Learning Programme /Learning Area / Subject and a description of the strengths and developmental needs of the learner.
Constructive feedback: The feedback should contain comments about the learner's performance in relation to his/her previous performance.
A report card may be produced electronically or manually using different styles preferred by the school but should contain all the information mentioned in paragraph 30(5)(a-d).
Schools should not accept report cards with errors from other schools. Once a fraudulent report has been identified, the matter should be reported to the principal of the affected school and to the District and/or Provincial Department of Education offices.
In cases where a fraudulent report card is discovered the Head of the Provincial Department of Education should institute an internal investigation of the matter and may take legal steps where necessary.
The parent(s) or guardian(s) has the right of access to report cards of their children.
Schools may not withhold report cards from learners for any reason whatsoever.
The schedule is a quarterly record which provides a summary about the progress of all learners in the grade in a school. The school may store this information manually or electronically. The end-of-year schedule is a compilation of learner performance across all four school terms. Copies of the end-of-year schedules should also be kept at the district office.
Schedules should be completed four times a year.
At the end of the year, a schedule for Grades R -8 should indicate whether the learners are ready to progress to the next grade or not. Schools should use (RP) to indicate that a learner is ready to progress to the next grade or (NRP) to indicate that the learner is not ready to progress. For Grades 9, 10 and 11 the end-of-year schedule should indicate whether the leaner is promoted to the next grade or not by using (P) for promoted and (NP) for not promoted. The-end-of-year schedules for Grade 12 will be externally generated.
The-end-of-year schedule must be signed by the principal and a departmental official. This then constitutes a legal document which should be kept at school in a file or box or electronically as part of the school archives for at least 5 years.
A schedule should be used for drawing up reports and for reporting to parents and the education system on the overall progress of learners in each grade. This means that a schedule should be completed for each grade.
The Department of Education will develop the schedule forms and the Provincial Departments of Education are responsible for providing each school with the schedule forms. Schedules for each grade should be submitted to the district in hard copy. A school stamp and signatures of a departmental official and school principal are required to authenticate the schedule.
A Learner Profile is a continuous record of information that gives a holistic impression of a learner and a learner's progress and performance. It assists the teacher in the next grade or school to understand the learner better and therefore to respond appropriately to the learner.
Learner Profiles should be kept at school and will be moved from one school to the next on the request of the principal of the next school. The school management of the receiving school has an obligation to request the Learner's Profile from the previous school within three months of the learner's admittance. The Learner Profile for every learner must be safeguarded and should accompany learners throughout their schooling career. The security of the Learner Profiles and the updating of required information rest with the school management.
The parents and other stakeholders have a right to access and view the Learner Profile on request. However, this should be done in the presence of the school management. The Learner Profile is a confidential document and should be treated as such. Under no circumstances should sensitive information such as the health status of the learner be divulged to anyone without the written permission of the parent(s) or guardian(s). Under no circumstances should the profile be moved from the school unless it is for reasons mentioned in paragraph 33.
The Provincial Departments of Education are responsible for providing preprinted files /folders for the Profiles.
In cases where the files/folders need repair, the school principal concerned should make a request to the district office for a replacement.
The compilation of Learner Profiles should be started at Grade R and should continue until the learner completes Grade 12.
Once the learner has passed Grade 12 or exited the schooling system for any reason whatsoever, the learner profile should be stored in the last school attended for a period of three years whereafter it should be destroyed. If the learner within this specified period re-enters the schooling system to further her/his studies, the provisos stated in paragraphs 33 and 34 will apply.
The Learner Profile replaces all previous continuous record documents that have been used by schools, such as record cards, tutor cards, Edlab cards, etc.
Describes the minimum level at which learners should demonstrate the achievement of a Learning Outcome and the ways or range (breadth and depth) of demonstrating the achievement. It is grade-specific.
This is an assessment activity that is designed to assess a range of skills and competencies.
Any assessment activity, instrument or programme where the design, development and implementation has been initiated, directed and, coordinated by Provincial Education Departments and the Department of Education either collectively or individually.
The process of verifying results of the formal Programme of Assessment and the External Assessment. Internal moderation of the formal Programme of Assessment tasks must be undertaken by the Heads of Department at a school.
A yearlong grade-specific formal plan of assessment for a Learning Programme/ Learning Area/ Subject.
Record of learner performance in formally assessed tasks expressed as national codes, marks and/or percentages. May or may not include comments. The use of comments is essential in the Foundation Phase.
Quarterly record of learner performance which is kept at the school. The end-of-year schedule is submitted to the district at the end of the year.
School Assessment Plan A plan of assessment which includes the formal tasks for all Learning Programmes/ Learning Areas/ Subjects to be undertaken during the school year.
Teacher Portfolio Collection of all planning for assessment, including the assessment tasks and assessment tools for both formal and informal assessment. It should include the record sheet(s).
NOTE: Subjects which include a Practical or Performance Assessment Task (PAT) can include an extra column to record learner performance in such tasks. Language teachers would need to add 2-3 columns per term.
DoE Logo GR.
Learner's Profile should be completed annually (in print) by the register teacher.
(Please use a BLACK PEN and update when there is change.
(Please use a PENCIL and update when there is change.
ADMIS-SION NUMBER NAME OF SCHOOL EMIS No.
(Please use a BLACK PEN.
PARTICIPATION IN CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES - school as well as not school related.
(Please use a BLACK PEN and complete annually.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS - e.g. academic, sport, culture, etc.
This is a legal document and information may not be removed. This document must be made available by the principal of the school at which the learner was previously enrolled, once the transfer card has also been issued, to the principal of the school to which the learner moves. It should be posted or personally and officially handed to the receiving school principal and not given to the parent/s or guardian of the learner.
FOUNDATION PHASE (Please use BLACK pen and indicate level codes.
GRADE YEAR LoLT Level LITERACY NUMERACY LIFE SKILLS COMMENT (See areas needing supportemotional and social behaviour.
INTERMEDIATE PHASE (Please use BLACK pen and indicate level codes.
GRADE YEAR LoLT of School 1.LANGUAGES HL / FAL/ SAL 2.MATHEMATICS 3.NATURALSCIENCES 4.TECHNOLOGY 5.SOCIALSCIENCES 6.EMS 7.ARTS &CULTURE 8.LIFEORIENTATION COMMENT (See areas needing support.
SENIOR PHASE (Please use BLACK pen and indicate level codes.
GRADE YEAR LoLT of School 1.LANGUAGES HL/ FAL/ SAL 2.MATHEMATICS 3.NATURALSCIENCES 4.TECHNOLOGY 5.SOCIALSCIENCES 6.EMS 7.ARTS &CULTURE 8.LIFEORIENTATION COMMENT (See areas needing support.
GRADES 1012 (Please use BLACK pen and indicate percentages.
GRADE YEAR LANGUAGES MATHEMATICS (M)/MATHS LITERACY (ML) LIFE ORIENTATION SUBJECT 1: SUBJECT 2: SUBJECT 3: COMMENT (See areas needing support.