Starting Behind and Staying Behind in South Africa: The case of insurmountable learning deficits in mathematics
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP27/2014Publication date: 2014
Author(s):
[protected email address] (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)
This study quantifies a year’s worth of mathematics learning in South Africa (0.3 standard deviations) and uses this measure to develop empirically-calibrated learning trajectories. Two main findings are, (1) only the top 16% of South African Grade 3 children are performing at an appropriate Grade 3 level. (2) The learning gap between the poorest 60% of students and the wealthiest 20% of students is approximately three Grade-levels in Grade 3, growing to four Grade-levels by Grade 9. The paper concludes by arguing that the later in life we attempt to repair early learning deficits in mathematics, the costlier the remediation becomes.
JEL Classification:I20, I21, I28
Keywords:Mathematics, Learning Trajectories, South Africa, Hierarchical Learning, SACMEQ, TIMSS
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27 Jun 2025 Another setback for the GNU, but oil markets breathe a little easierThis week was marked by heightened tensions both domestically and internationally. At home, friction intensified between the two largest parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU), the ANC and the DA, following the firing of one of the DA's deputy ministers. Internationally, the US conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities using...
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