Only 23% of Grade 9 pupils in Western Cape passed maths, but it’s an improvement

The Western Cape’s 2024 systemic test results revealed that only 23% of Grade 9 pupils passed mathematics.

Despite this, the latest results, released by Western Cape Minister of Education David Maynier earlier this week, indicated some progress in restoring learning outcomes following Covid-19 disruptions.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) conducts annual systemic testing in mathematics and language for students in grades 3, 6, and 9.

ALSO READ: Matric exam re-mark: Wednesday marks NSC application deadline

Results of 2024 systemic testing

• The Grade 9 mathematics pass rate increased by 2.9 percentage points compared to 2023 but remains low at just 23%.
• Grade 3 mathematics saw a 4.3 percentage point increase from 2023, and Grade 6 mathematics improved by 1.1 percentage points.
• Grade 3 language improved by 2.9 percentage points from 2023, surpassing 2019 levels by 0.5 percentage points.
• Grade 6 language improved by 4.0 percentage points, reducing the gap with 2019 scores to 1.3 percentage points.
• However, Grade 9 language scores declined by 2.8 percentage points compared to 2023.

Officials will be investigating this trend to implement necessary interventions.

The systemic tests were conducted across all public schools in the province, covering approximately 97 000 pupils in Grade 3, 89 400 in Grade 6, and 84 400 Grade 9 pupils.

ALSO READ: PICS: Mould on the roof, broken pipes and classes with 50 kids – the state of some Gauteng schools

Expert weighs in

Speaking to The Citizen, education expert Mary Metcalf noted that mathematics performance remains poor due to foundational challenges, including limited resources, insufficient teacher support, and overcrowded classrooms.

“Generally, maths performance is low because of poor foundations, and these are poor for several reasons: limited resources, inadequate support to teachers in both content knowledge and effective pedagogies and often class sizes that are too large,” she explained.

According to Metcalf, weak conceptual foundations in early grades continue to affect students as they progress through the system.

She also pointed out that both national and international assessments show a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and academic performance.

“In addition, both the South African Systemic Evaluation and international assessments show a close correlation with socio-economic status and learner performance,” she said.

ALSO READ: Hundreds of pupils still not placed as parents take to the street

Continued efforts

Minister Maynier acknowledged the progress made but emphasised the need for continued efforts.

Maynier said that Schools will receive individual reports to help identify specific learning gaps, and curriculum officials will use the data to refine interventions under the province’s ‘BackOnTrack’ programme.

“We will use the new data to analyse where resources should be directed, supplementing the findings of the recent Stellenbosch University report on the effectiveness of our interventions,” he added.

NOW READ: Gauteng school admissions: When do late applications close?