South Africa's schooling system presents a surprising paradox. less than one in five Grade 4 students can read for meaning, yet more 60% Young people (aged 15 to 24) eventually complete 12th grade. Matriculation (school leaving examination) pass rates has been rising steadily in recent years and has reached record highs, especially in poor schools.
How do so many learners succeed through this system when their early learning paths suggest they should not?
This question inspired recent work A mixed methods investigation of learner assessment progress and support through our research project, based at the University of Stellenbosch, the University of Cape Town and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Fifty teachers in eight high schools were interviewed about how learners move through the schooling system. We also used existing quantitative databases, official reports and policy documents.
Rather than offering a single explanation, the research identifies a set of interlocking policies and practices that enable learners to reach 12th grade even when mastery of grade-level content is limited.
The system operates with two competing pressures:
This tension places teachers under extreme stress, especially for learners with large learning gaps without adequate improvement opportunities.
A hybrid system of promotion and advancement
When large numbers of learners fall behind, education systems typically choose between two strategies: grade retention, where learners repeat until meeting minimum requirements; Or social promotion, where they move up regardless of performance. Grade retention is used in many low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil. Social promotion is used in many contexts, from Denmark to Ghana. South Africa uses both.
Officer Policy Limits learners to repeating only once per school stage (Foundation, Intermediate, Senior). After that, they must progress to the next class, even if they have not met the promotion requirements. This “year-by-step” rule was introduced partly to reduce overage learners in the system and to control the cost of repetition, where repeaters consume almost 8% Of the national education budget. Only 30% to 40% How many learners reach matriculation without repeating.
The result is a mixed system that retains some learners to repeat a grade while allowing others to progress to the next grade despite not meeting promotion requirements.
In practice, many learners enter high school without the curriculum knowledge they should have.
One of the surprising findings of the study is how poorly understood progress is at school level. Many teachers are unaware of how many advanced learners there are in their classes, or even how to identify them. This information exists in the learner's record, but is rarely used to plan learning or provide additional support.
Teachers in our study reported significant academic gaps, particularly in grades 8 and 9. Learners may struggle to read, write, or perform basic calculations, yet they are expected to engage in increasingly demanding content. Without dedicated support structures, teachers “turn stones into bread”, as one teacher said.
Makes it possible to pass school-based assessments
Promotion decisions depend heavily on school-based assessment – projects, tests, assignments, orals and practical work set and marked by teachers.
Over time, the importance of these assessments relative to examinations has increased, especially during and after the COVID-19 period. our research shows They are often generously marked and rarely fail. Learners are often given multiple opportunities to complete tasks, with the help of teachers or parents. As a class 8 math teacher Explained: :
We mark the work and return it to them so they can correct what they have done. The order is that no child should fail in the assignment. They may fail in an exam but not in an assignment. If they fail you have to give it back to them so they do it again.
As a result, school-based assessment scores often compensate for weak test performance. Administrative data confirm that there has been widespread “bunching” of learner scores just above the pass cut-off, particularly at the end of the school year. a teacher Explained: :
We are told, 'You have had too many failures', 'Go back to improve'. So those who are closer to 30% are pushed up.
Teaching for anticipated exams and tests
Exam formats have become more predictable. Old papers are reused. Teachers in the study coached learners to recognize recurring question types, memorize essays, and rehearse model answers.
This may help learners move through the grades, but it may discourage deep conceptual understanding and potentially limit learners' ability to transfer knowledge to unfamiliar contexts.
Read more:
What's stopping kids from learning useful skills? Short answer: exam
Bureaucratic and political pressure to pass
Matriculation results are publicly reported and used to evaluate schools and provincial education systems, focusing on passing rates. In contrast, retaining learners involves difficult administrative processes and increases financial pressure on the system. Therefore, progress becomes not only a decision about learning, but also an organizational and political decision.
Teachers in the study felt that their professional judgment was ignored in the process. The moral dilemma of students who graduate, knowing that they are not academically prepared for the next grade and are unlikely to receive additional support there, is deeply felt.
Intensive support comes late and unevenly
In addressing the academic backlog, the system concentrates its resources at the end of schooling. Class 12 learners benefit from extra classes, revision camps, NGO programs and targeted district interventions. These “just-in-time” strategies are designed to push learners across the matriculation finish line.
Grades 8 and 9 often have less experienced teachers and minimal additional support. The study found that in some schools, student teachers are appointed to lower secondary classes, while senior teachers focus on matriculation classes.
By metric, the group is smaller and more flexible
Many learners drop out or repeat studies before reaching grade 12; currently just finished 60% The youth will pass matriculation. Those who survive are more academically capable and more resilient. And as matriculation approaches the motivation increases.
However, recently schools have also engaged in gatekeeping Research Shows, if weaker learners are seen as a risk to the overall pass rate then they are discouraged from proceeding to class 12. So ultimately the matriculation group is encouraged and deeply supported.
Progress without improvement comes at a price
Overall, these dynamics explain how learner fluency persists in Grade 12 despite poor initial learning outcomes.
The hybrid model is not inherently flawed, but it is poorly understood and inadequately supported. We argue that progress must be accompanied by realistic, well-resourced strategies to address learning gaps early, especially in the lower secondary classes.
The challenge is to ensure that reaching the end of school represents meaningful learning, not simply surviving through the system.