Western Cape Prepared for the 2013 National Senior Certificate Marking Process

Media Statement by Western Cape Minister of Education, Donald Grant

Friday, 29 November, is the last examination day of the 2013 National Senior Certificate examinations.

So far, these examinations have progressed without any major incidents or disruptions. I would like to thank our dedicated and committed team for their professional management of the entire examination process. They really have done an outstanding job.

Of course, the work of this team does not end on Friday, 29 November. We still have the all-important marking process to complete. This, in itself, is a major logistical exercise that requires discretion, professionalism, organisation and compliance.

On Saturday, 30 November 2013, the marking process will begin. The majority of markers, however, will start on 4 December.

The WCED have appointed over 3 300 people to mark the 800 000 examination scripts that have been completed by candidates.

The criteria for markers generally are that they must be teaching the relevant subject in Grade 12, have at least a second-year university level qualification in the subject, minimum of five years teaching experience and have taught the subject for two of the last three years.

In addition, the WCED again administered competency testing for markers to ensure there is the highest possible standard of marking in these examinations and that all our markers are both competent and experienced in their subject fields.

The Western Cape is the only province to have administered such testing for markers.

The WCED tested markers in 10 subject fields – Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, Physical Sciences, History, Life Sciences, Accounting, Business Studies, Geography and Consumer Studies.

The competency tests assessed the content knowledge of the subject, application of knowledge and skills and marking abilities. The tests also test the ability of the applicant to interpret the Grade 12 candidate responses. Therefore it does not test subject content only.

We believe this process will reflect the overall quality of passes in the Western Cape.

It also enhances the professional status of educators and the credibility of the public examination.

The marking process will take place under strict security to protect the integrity of the examinations.

To ensure a uniform, high standard of marking, a minimum percentage of scripts will be moderated (remarked) by senior markers appointed for this purpose – 520 mark checkers will be checking the marks before they are uploaded onto a national database.

Marking is expected to be completed by 13 December 2013.

In the last week of December a national standardisation process takes place where marks for various subjects are standardised and approved by UMALUSI. Once the information is checked and verified, UMALUSI approves the release of the results.

Schools collect the results from district offices on the morning of 7 January. They are then asked to analyse the results and check for any errors. After 12:00, candidates will receive their individual results. (national and provincial results are expected to be announced on January 2013.)

We are confident that the Class of 2013 will do themselves and the Western Cape proud and we look forward to celebrating their results in early January.