Schoolchildren in grade three and above are to be tested annually for the next three years to ensure their reading skills are up to par, the Department of Education said on Friday.
Education Minister Naledi Pandor would gazette a three-year ”foundation for learning strategy … that will involve the annual testing of all children from grade three”, the department said.
This was in response to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), which had found South African children could not read at appropriate levels in grades four and five.
”Poor performance in Pirls indicates a need to intensify and review our efforts at ensuring a proper foundation for learning.”
Reading ”toolkits” would be distributed to primary school teachers, including an early-grade reading assessment ”tool” to help teachers monitor the reading progress of their pupils.
”Teachers will also receive intensive training and the expert advice of curriculum advisers. In 2011, there will be a national assessment of the impact made by the three-year programme,” the department said. — Sapa