Report on the National Senior Certificate Examination Results 2010.

REPORT ON THE NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION RESULTS • 2010
the validity and reliability of the questions are of high importance during the setting and moderation of the
nsc question papers . special attention was paid to the weightings in terms of the learning outcomes and
assessment standards, mark allocation, inclusion of a variety of skills as well as cognitive levels to ensure that
all learners are adequately catered for . Questions were carefully set to ensure that appropriate scaffolding is
provided for each question and also the principle of moving from the simple to the more complex, was applied
in all question papers .
Every question paper was developed with an accompanying memorandum and an analysis grid showing the
spread in terms of the types of questions, mark allocation, coverage of learning outcomes and assessment
standards as well as cognitive levels .
the question papers for nsc had a substantial number of critical thinking and problem solving questions .
This shift in the cognitive demand of the question papers has challenged learners who are not proficient in the
language of teaching and learning . this is a matter that is receiving priority attention by the dbE . to ensure
that the language of the question paper is in keeping with the language level of the learners, the dbE engaged
the services of a special editor to simplify the language in all content subjects as well as to quality assure the
translation in key subjects, namely life sciences, Physical science, mathematics, mathematical literacy and
Geography. This process improved the language access of the question papers in the 2010 examinations.
(c) Quality assurance of question papers
a number of quality assurance measures were utilized to ensure that the question papers are of high quality
and standard and are valid and reliable instruments of assessment . these include a rigorous process of
internal moderation, editing, language simplification and proofreading.
The final quality assurance of the 2010 NSC question papers was conducted at the DBE in collaboration
with PEds . after the dbE editors completed editing and correlation, a team of selected editors from different
provinces were utilized to conduct the final editing and proofreading of the question papers before they were
handed over to PEds . this new approach introduced an additional layer of quality assurance to ensure error
free question papers . in addition, the question papers were provided to PEds in PdF format to prevent any
changes from being made before printing and ensure consistency across PEds . it is encouraging to note that
this revised approach to editing and finalising the question papers ensured an improved quality and no errors
were reported during the writing of the examination.
(d) Internal moderation of question papers
Once the panel of examiners completed setting the examination paper, marking guideline and analysis grid,
the question papers were submitted to the internal moderator whose responsibility is to review the question
papers according to the agreed criteria . the umalusi criteria for evaluation of question papers are used by the
internal moderators to review and moderate the nsc question papers .
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