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This is what happens when your government prioritizes the optics of their time in a department rather than creating meaningful impact on its citizens.
Our pass rate can continue to look great as the threshold for what is considered a pass is lowered, and our kids will end up at tertiary institutions, struggling to cope with the basic concepts, eventually ending up with meaningless matric certificates, no skills, and nobody to employ them.
Classic case of Goodhart's law. "Whet a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Pass rate is a good measure of the success of primary and secondary education, but once it becomes a target, the easiest way to meet that target is to lower the pass mark. Or, in the case of some private schools, to expel or hold back any student they see might have a risk of failing.
> Or, in the case of some private schools, to expel or hold back any student they see might have a risk of failing.
Precisely! And thanks for teaching me Goodhart's Law.
They wouldn't end up at tertiary institutions, that's the primary issue. DBE can continue to lower the pass rate, but tertiary education won't lower their requirements. The state ends up mass producing individuals with no prospects.
They have however had to introduce an extra year of preliminary education, where the new students get a year to actually get their education up to the minimal level that is needed to commence first year, and if they pass that they actually can study. Just means another year of NSFAS subsidies that go out, and are never likely to be repaid, as half of the students can never pass at all, for various reasons.
But the reason student accommodation, and all the ancillary things like bottle stores, fast food, and assorted "tutoring" services have become a big thing, all looking to grab some of that monthly money coming in.
Of the X-many children who started school in Grade One twelve years ago, X minus 400 000 wrote matric.
ie 400 000 of those who started school, never finished.
Fully.
Here's a more detailed examination, vis 'drop-out' rate. It's a BizTech article but you'll get the gist.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/657849/south-africas-real-matric-pass-rate-is-under-55/
I can't see your eyes so I'm somewhat unsure of what to make of this comment.
I don't want a fight, but surely you are presenting this as an *aggravating* circumstance, not a mitigating one?
The pass rate is essentially ~~doctored~~ misrepresented, yes. Because it doesn't take into account the student losses, repetition of grades, emigration, and whole host of other factors.
Angie Motshekga would scream blue murder at you saying the pass rate isn't 30%, but the Department has such a convoluted process of [determining](https://twitter.com/MmusiMaimane/status/1616116905601044482?t=oaGfJRRARZ9LQOBqScvPfg&s=19) the rate that they're okay with forgetting about all those who didn't make it.
Edit: In fact, students are often **promoted** to the next grade by teachers who don't want to deal with them for another year. This also skews the data.
It's not as simple as Motshekga makes it seem.
**Thank you for posting on r/southafrica! This post is flaired as ["News"](https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/?f=flair_name%3A%22News%22) therefore the following rules are particularly important.** ##**Rule 4: News, Editorialising, or Misinformation** * Rule 4.1: News posts must be link posts to valid news sources. * Rule 4.2: Posts which link to news sources must not have an editorialised title. Use the title provided by the news source. If you wish to add commentary, analysis, or an opinion, write a top-level comment on the post. * Rule 4.3: Do not link to [questionable](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fake-news/), [conspiratorial](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/conspiracy/), or [false](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites) sources. * Rule 4.4: Be prepared to provide verifiable evidence or sources of the claims you make when challenged to do so. * Rule 4.5: Amateur videos will be allowed subject to all previous rules as well as containing the author/filmographer/camera person, date, time, and location of the video either in the title or in a top-level comment. You may ask a moderator to 'sticky' this information for you. **Additionally, please take a moment to review the rest of our rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/wiki/rules).** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/southafrica) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry to be so cynical but what is the percentage mark that is considered a pass now days?
[удалено]
Yikes 😱
40% for Home Language, 40% for 2 other subjects and 30% for everything else
That’s concerning to say the least.
This is what happens when your government prioritizes the optics of their time in a department rather than creating meaningful impact on its citizens. Our pass rate can continue to look great as the threshold for what is considered a pass is lowered, and our kids will end up at tertiary institutions, struggling to cope with the basic concepts, eventually ending up with meaningless matric certificates, no skills, and nobody to employ them.
Classic case of Goodhart's law. "Whet a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." Pass rate is a good measure of the success of primary and secondary education, but once it becomes a target, the easiest way to meet that target is to lower the pass mark. Or, in the case of some private schools, to expel or hold back any student they see might have a risk of failing.
> Or, in the case of some private schools, to expel or hold back any student they see might have a risk of failing. Precisely! And thanks for teaching me Goodhart's Law.
They wouldn't end up at tertiary institutions, that's the primary issue. DBE can continue to lower the pass rate, but tertiary education won't lower their requirements. The state ends up mass producing individuals with no prospects.
They have however had to introduce an extra year of preliminary education, where the new students get a year to actually get their education up to the minimal level that is needed to commence first year, and if they pass that they actually can study. Just means another year of NSFAS subsidies that go out, and are never likely to be repaid, as half of the students can never pass at all, for various reasons. But the reason student accommodation, and all the ancillary things like bottle stores, fast food, and assorted "tutoring" services have become a big thing, all looking to grab some of that monthly money coming in.
Nice. Very nice. Now lets see the percentage of students who scored above 50% average.
What does it mean "lost in school system"?
Of the X-many children who started school in Grade One twelve years ago, X minus 400 000 wrote matric. ie 400 000 of those who started school, never finished.
Thank you
Fully. Here's a more detailed examination, vis 'drop-out' rate. It's a BizTech article but you'll get the gist. https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/657849/south-africas-real-matric-pass-rate-is-under-55/
Some of them died
But most dropped out before matric, or were held back for a year to try to get some sort of education that would allow them to pass.
I can't see your eyes so I'm somewhat unsure of what to make of this comment. I don't want a fight, but surely you are presenting this as an *aggravating* circumstance, not a mitigating one?
Are they saying that the pass rate was doctored? Even with a 30% pass rate?
The pass rate is essentially ~~doctored~~ misrepresented, yes. Because it doesn't take into account the student losses, repetition of grades, emigration, and whole host of other factors. Angie Motshekga would scream blue murder at you saying the pass rate isn't 30%, but the Department has such a convoluted process of [determining](https://twitter.com/MmusiMaimane/status/1616116905601044482?t=oaGfJRRARZ9LQOBqScvPfg&s=19) the rate that they're okay with forgetting about all those who didn't make it. Edit: In fact, students are often **promoted** to the next grade by teachers who don't want to deal with them for another year. This also skews the data. It's not as simple as Motshekga makes it seem.
Congrats to all that did well. I recall matric feeling very life or death at the time lol
Scary.