National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No. 27 of 1996)

In this Policy —

"Authentic assessment" refers to assessment that aims to assess knowledge, skills, values and attitudes in contexts that closely resemble actual situations in which that knowledge and those skills, values and attitudes are used.

"Assessment forms" means the most appropriate means of assessing and determining how well learners are learning.

"Assessment Standard" describes the minimum level at which learners should demonstrate the achievement of a Learning Outcome and the ways or range (breadth and depth) of demonstrating the achievement. It is grade-specific.

"Assessment strategies" means the approaches taken to assess a learner's performance, using a number of assessment forms appropriate to the task and the level of the learner's understanding.

"Assessment Task" refers to an assessment activity that is designed to assess a range of skills and competencies. For example, one task is:

"Common Tasks for Assessment" means a series of tasks intended for obtaining information about a learner's demonstrated achievement. These tasks must cover a range of assessment activities, e.g. practical work, project work, classroom work, homework, oral work or presentations, and paper-and-pencil tests.

"Continuous assessment" means an ongoing process that measures a learner's achievement during the course of a grade or level, providing information that is used to support a learner's development and enable improvements to be made in the learning and teaching process.

"Criterion-referenced assessment" measures how well a learner performs against a standard or criterion, rather than against another learner.

"External assessment" means any assessment activity, instrument or programme of which the design, development and implementation have been initiated, directed and coordinated by the provincial education departments and the Department of Education, either collectively or individually.

"Moderation" means the process of verifying the results of the continuous and external assessment.

"Pen-and-paper task" means a task, requiring a written response, that is performed under controlled conditions and that measures a learner's understanding and performance across a range of competences.

"Programme of Assessment" means a year-long grade-specific formal plan of assessment for a Learning Programme or Learning Area or Subject.

"Record Sheet" means a record of learner's performance in formally assessed tasks expressed as national codes together with descriptors or percentages. May or may not include comments, although the use of comments is essential in the Foundation Phase, "Schedule" means a quarterIy record of learner performance, which is kept at the school. The progression or promotion schedule is submitted to the district at the end of the year.

"School Assessment Plan" means a plan of assessment that includes the formal tasks for all Learning Programmes or Learning Areas to be covered during the school year.

"Teacher Portfolio" means a collection of all planning for assessment, including the assessment tasks and assessment tools for both formal and informal assessment. It should include the Record Sheet(s).