The Western Cape Province TIMMS 2019- Grade 9 Results

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The TIMSS 2019 Grade 9 study was administered in August 2019 by the Human Sciences Research Council, in collaboration with the Western Cape Education Department, the Department of Basic Education and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. TIMSS 2019 collected learner achievement data in the core subjects of mathematics and science, as well as contextual information from learners, educators and school principals which enabled the exploration of factors that are associated with Grade 9 learners’ achievement. South Africa participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) at Grade 8 or 9 since 1995. In TIMSS 2019, the Western Cape province increased its sample size from 30 to 150 schools and participated as a self-standing benchmarking participant, while still forming part of the national sample. This larger sample size allows a more precise measure of provincial mathematics and science achievement scores as well as an opportunity to understand the texture of the Western Cape achievement. Further, this larger sample allows for analysis to identify factors that are associated with Western Cape mathematics and science achievement. This report highlights how the results of international assessments can be used to provide meaningful insights at the provincial level. We analysed the data from a ‘building achievement and bridging achievement gaps’ perspective. The findings presented in the report are based on descriptive and inferential analysis of the TIMSS data, and provide insights into learner achievement, as well as aspects of learners’ home environments, and the school and classroom contexts within which teaching and learning take place. The report concludes with key findings and implications for the senior phase of the Western Cape education system.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II

LIST OF FIGURES VII

LIST OF TABLES VIII

LIST OF ACRONYMS X

READER’S GUIDE XI

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: WESTERN CAPE TIMSS 2019 GRADE 9 RESULTS XIII

SECTION A: FRAMING THE TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY FOR THE WESTERN CAPE AS A BENCHMARKING PARTICIPANT 1

CHAPTER ONE 2

1. THE WESTERN CAPE DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT 2

The size and shape of the Western Cape educational system 3

A focus on achievements and achievement gaps 6

1. TIMSS DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 7

What is TIMSS? 7

TIMSS in the Western Cape 7

The TIMSS conceptual framework 8

The TIMSS Assessment Framework 8

What did Grade 9 Western Cape participants do in TIMSS 2019? 9

The achievement booklets 9

The contextual questionnaires 9

TIMSS pre-administration and administration 9

Selecting schools and learners 11

Reporting TIMSS achievement scores 12

Structure of the report 13

SECTION B: ACHIEVEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT GAPS 14

CHAPTER TWO 15

1. MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 15

Mathematics achievement in an international context 15

The Western Cape in relation to countries with similar mathematics achievement scores 17

Western Cape mathematics achievement and learners reaching international achievement benchmarks 18

Trends in mathematics achievement and achievement benchmarks in the Western Cape

(TIMSS 2011 to 2019) 20

Mathematics achievement of Western Cape learners relative to other provinces 21

1. MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT GAPS 22

Mathematics achievement and ability levels by socioeconomic status of the school 22

Mathematics achievement and ability levels by school fee status 23

Mathematics achievement and ability levels by metro or non-metro districts 24

1. SUMMARY: MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT GAPS 25

CHAPTER THREE 26

1. SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT 26

Science achievement in an international context 26

The Western Cape in relation to countries with similar science achievement scores 28

Western Cape science achievement and percentages of learners reaching international

achievement benchmarks 29

Trends in science achievement in Western Cape (TIMSS 2011 to 2019) 30

Science achievement of Western Cape learners relative to other provinces 31

1. SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS 32

Science achievement and ability levels by socioeconomic status of the school 32

Science achievement and ability levels by school fee status 34

Science achievement and ability levels by metro or non-metro districts 35

1. SUMMARY: SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT GAPS 36

SECTION C: THE CURRICULUM: CONTENT AND COGNITIVE DOMAINS 37

CHAPTER FOUR 38

1. MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM 38
2. PERFORMANCE BY TIMSS MATHEMATICS CONTENT AND COGNITIVE DOMAINS 38

Achievement by content domain 38

Achievement by cognitive domain 40

1. SCIENCE CURRICULUM 42
2. PERFORMANCE BY TIMSS SCIENCE CONTENT AND COGNITIVE DOMAINS 42

Achievement by content domain 42

Achievement by cognitive domain 44

1. PERFORMANCE BY QUESTION TYPE 46
2. SUMMARY: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CURRICULUM ANALYSIS 47

SECTION D: THE HOME ENVIRONMENT AND LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS

RELATED TO ACHIEVEMENT 48

CHAPTER FIVE 49

1. A PROFILE OF LEARNERS 49

Learners’ gender and achievement 49

Learners’ linguistic characteristics and achievement 52

Age of learners and achievement 54

1. HOME ENVIRONMENT OF LEARNERS 55

Availability of home assets 55

Home Asset Scale 57

Profile of schools by learners’ socioeconomic status 57

Relationship between socioeconomic and achievement 58

Home educational resources and mathematics and science achievement 59

Home support for learning 60

Barriers to providing support for learning 60

1. SUMMARY: LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR HOME ENVIRONMENT 61

CHAPTER SIX 62

1. LEARNERS LIKE LEARNING MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE 62
2. LEARNERS VALUE MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE 64
3. LEARNERS CONFIDENT IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE 66
4. SUMMARY: LEARNER ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE 68

SECTION E: SCHOOL AND CLASSROOM FACTORS RELATED TO ACHIEVEMENT 69

CHAPTER SEVEN 70

1. SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS 70

Profile of schools by their socioeconomic status 70

Profile of schools in terms of socioeconomic status of learners 71

Profile of schools in terms of population group of learners 72

Profile of schools by their geo-location 73

1. THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 75

School principals’ educational qualifications and experience 75

Principals’ leadership style and school management characteristics 75

1. SCHOOL CLIMATE 76

Emphasis placed on academic success 76

Schools promoting academic excellence in mathematics and science 79

Safe and orderly schools 81

School discipline 83

Incidences of bullying in schools 85

1. SUMMARY: SCHOOLS AS ENABLING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 87

CHAPTER EIGHT 88

1. EDUCATORS 88

Preparation and experience 88

Educator professional development participation and future needs 89

1. RESOURCES TO TEACH MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE 90

Class size and achievement 90

Resources and materials 93

Textbooks and workbooks 93

1. CLASSROOM INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES 95

Educators’ instructional clarity 95

Learner behaviour during mathematics lessons 96

Emphasis on science investigation and experiments 98

1. COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION 99

Computers in the home 99

Computer access in schools 100

Computer access and use in mathematics and science classrooms 100

1. SUMMARY: CLASSROOMS: EDUCATORS, RESOURCES AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES 101

SECTION F: MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS 102

CHAPTER NINE 103

1. AN OVERVIEW OF THE APPROACH USED 103

Bivariate associations 103

Grouped multivariate associations 103

Full multivariate model 104

Statistical analysis 104

1. BIVARIATE ASSOCIATIONS 104

School quintile rank 104

Household characteristics 105

Individual-level characteristics 106

Learners’ attitudes to learning 106

Educator and classroom characteristics 107

Principal and school-level characteristics 108

1. GROUPED MULTIVARIATE ASSOCIATIONS 109

Household characteristics 109

Individual-level characteristics 109

Learner attitudes to learning 110

Educator and classroom characteristics 111

Principal and school-level characteristics 112

1. HOW MUCH OF THE VARIATION IN ACHIEVEMENT CAN THESE CHARACTERISTICS EXPLAIN? 113
2. FULL MULTIVARIATE MODEL 114
3. SUMMARY: FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT 117

SECTION G: RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS 118

CHAPTER TEN 119

1. RESULTS FROM THE WESTERN CAPE TIMSS 2019 119

GRADE 9 MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE PERFORMANCE 119

HOME AND INDIVIDUAL, SCHOOL AND CLASSROOM CONTEXTS 120

CURRICULUM 122

1. IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WESTERN CAPE TIMSS 2019 RESULTS 122

Monitoring and evaluating the Western Cape’s mathematics and science achievement and achievement gaps 123

Schools must be safer places of learning that emphasise academic excellence 124

Improving learners’ attitudes to learning mathematics and science 124

CONCLUSION 125

REFERENCES 126

ANNEXURE 1: TIMSS DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 131

Translating and preparing assessment instruments 131

Field testing of instrument 131

Main administration of TIMSS 2019 131

Creating the TIMSS 2019 data files 132

ANNEXURE 2: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CURRICULA 134

ANNEXURE 3: NON-COGNITIVE FACTORS IN THE CAPS DOCUMENTS 136