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Mathematics achievement among South African students remains surprisingly low, as more students choose to take Mathematics Literacy rather than Basic Mathematics.
Recent matrix results announced by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga reflected a 76.2% pass rate, a reduction of more than five percentage points compared to last year’s results.
Additionally, the “actual enrollment pass rate,” which measures the number of students who enrolled in grade 10 two years earlier and passed their 2020 enrollment exam, is now 44.1%.
The Department of Education noted in its report that it was concerned about the significant decline in the passing rate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
A pass refers to the achievement of 30% or more in a subject.
The enrollment results data reflect that the Mathematics pass rate fell 0.8 percentage points to 53.8%, while the Physical Sciences pass rate fell 9.7 percentage points to 65.8%.
Few matrices reach college math thresholds
The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation has established national goals for academic achievement in mathematics and science.
It uses a 60% threshold to determine the potential for tuition candidates to qualify for university colleges such as engineering, business, and medicine.
The latest matrix results reflect a significant increase in the number of students achieving over 60% in math, although this number is still surprisingly low compared to the total number of matrices.
Of the 578,468 students who wrote tuition exams, only 43,447 (8%) achieved more than 60% in Math.
Compared to the total number of matrices who enrolled in the same cohort in first grade, the figure is even more alarming.
The data shows that of the 1,072,993 students who were enrolled in first grade in 2009, only 4% reached more than 60% in Matrix Math.
The move to math literacy
An important factor affecting this performance is the sharp decrease in matrices who choose to do math.
Instead, most students now choose to study Math Literacy, which prevents them from studying technical subjects at university.
The differences between the three mathematics subjects available in South Africa are detailed below:
| Subject | Contents | University |
|---|---|---|
| Math | Standard math curriculum, including trigonometry, calculus, algebra, etc. | Can study at university |
| Math literacy | Easier than math. Daily calculations such as budgets and interest. | You can study at university, but will generally be excluded from studying technical subjects such as engineering, computer science, accounting, chemistry, and more. |
| Technical mathematics | Prepares students for careers as an electrician, installer, plumber. | No college exemption – You can only study at a technical school. |
In 2020, 233,315 students sat down to write the math test, 53.8% of whom passed.
341,363 students chose to write Math Literacy and 80.8% of them passed with a mark of more than 30%.
The table below reflects the total number of matrices who wrote the NSC 2020 exam, as well as the number who wrote and passed Math and Math Literacy.
Math vs Math Literacy
The graph below shows the number of students enrolled in Math vs Math Literacy from 2016 to 2020.
Now Read: South Africa’s “Real” Tuition Pass Rate is 44%
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