THE GENERAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING BAND (GET)
Grades 8 and 9 in the High School
Learning Areas :
- Home Language
- First Additional Language
- Mathematics
- Economic Management Sciences
- Arts and Culture
- Life Orientation
- Social Sciences
- Natural Sciences
- Technology
Absenteeism:
The learner is required to be at school every day unless he/she is really ill. A medical certificate must be handed in when he/she is absent from school.
Portfolios
Learners compile portfolios in each and every learning area. These portfolios are moderated throughout the year at cluster meeting. Portfolios are also submitted to District Office for moderation. Portfolios are compiled from January to October from assignments done by the learner. Portfolios include: group work; research projects; individual assignments; worksheets, works of art; essays; oral presentations; demonstrations; tests; homework and examination papers.
Should an assignment not be handed in on the due date / or not done at all, the learner will sign a document as proof that they do not wish to complete the assignment and a zero mark will be awarded.
Learners are notified well in advance when a portfolio item is due. Approximately 110 portfolio items are required from all the learning areas annually.
CTA A & B
A CTA examination set by the Department of Education is written November by Grade 9 learners.
CTA A amounts to 25% of the learners year mark and Portfolios amount to 75% of the year mark. The CTAs have to be completed before a learner is promoted to Grade 10 the FET Phase.
Grade 8 learners must pass a language as well as Maths in order to be promoted to Grade 9.
Please Note : One of the main reasons for a learner not being promoted to the next grade is their reluctance to complete their Portfolio assignments.
Assessment Plans
An Assessment plan will be handed to learners where all the assignments and due dates will be noted.
Parent Evenings
A Parent Evening is held every term to keep parents informed of the learner's progress.
1. Progression and Promotion in the GET Band
The National policy on Assessment and Qualification for Schools in the GET Ban (Gazette No. 26296 of 2007) provides requirements for promotion in Grade 9. The progression conditions are spelt out for Grades R to 8, but clear levels of attainment have not been included. The progression requirements presented below provide clarity to teaches as to when a learner is allowed to progress to the next grade or when a learners is to be retained.
1.1 Within the OBE environment, learners are supposed to move with their age cohort. This implies that a learner may be retained ONLY ONCE in a phase.
2. Progression and Promotion Requirements
2.1 Progession Grade 1 - 8
2.1.1 Learners are progressed in Grades 1 - 8 based on the evidence of their performance throughout the year. A learner will be progressed to the next grade only is she/he has satisfied the following achievement requirements:
- At least a "moderate achievement" or level 3 rating in Mathematics and one of the Official Languages offered:
- At least an "elementary achievement" or level 2 rating in the other official language; and
- At least "moderate achievement" or level 3 rating in FOUR other learning areas.
2.1.2 All other learning areas are compulsory and the assessment of all eight is compulsory, but awarding the qualification will be based on Languages, Mathematics and four other learning areas.
2.1.3 The learner will be promoted only is he/she satisfies the requirements for School-based Assessment or Continuous Assessment (100%) in all the Learning Areas.
2.2 Fundamental Learning Area
2.2.1 Languages are seen as two or three different fundamental Learning Areas i.e. language 1 is presented at Home Language level, Language 2 is presented at First Additional Level, Language 3 is presented at least at Second Additional level; and
2.2.2 Mathematics as a fundamental learning Area.
2.3 Other Learning Areas
These are the other six learning areas, namely Natural Sciences, Technology, Economic & Management Sciences, Arts & Culture, Social Sciences and Life Orientation.