Abstract
D.Phil.
In 2000, the incumbent Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, mandated
the inclusion of school based assessment (SBA) as a component of Senior
Certificate (Grade 12) assessment across all examining bodies in the country.
Prior to this, the Senior Certificate (Grade 12) examination was a “once off”
terminal examination at the end of twelve years of schooling. The rationale for the
inclusion of SBA as a component of the Senior Certificate (Grade 12) was to
remove the focus from a high stakes examination to a more continuous form of
assessment, that is school based, and one that assesses skills beyond the
domains of an examination. Since SBA is implemented by teachers, it appears
that the management of the moderation process at school level in not being done
with the required diligence and thoroughness. This observation is based on
various anecdotal reports, district reports and statistical moderation reports. This
results in this assessment being questioned in terms of its reliability and validity.
Therefore, this study attempts to review the current form of moderation of SBA as
it is implemented in the Gauteng province, so as to develop an improved model for
the management of moderation of SBA.