An analysis of Grade 9 learners' performance in the 2004 Natural Science common tasks for assessment with special reference to science process skills, learning outcomes and assessment standards

Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-239).In 2004 an educational evaluation strategy consisting of Common Tasks for Assessment (CTAs) was introduced nationally into South African high schools as an external examination, marked internally by individual teachers. It took the form of a systemic assessment for Grade 9 learners with the main intentions of promoting a common standard and serving as a validating tool for school-based assessment. This analytical descriptive investigation in 12 schools (in the Western Cape is a contribution to the research fields of academic performance testing, achievement and response. CTAs use the framework of the curriculum, broadly defined as the organising principle in how educational opportunities are provided to learners. Hence, the basis of the CT A model has three aspects: the intended curriculum, the implemented curriculum, and the attained and experienced curriculum. The CTA testing took place in 2004 with many schools participating. The CTA assessment in the area of Natural Science was framed by two organising dimensions: a content domain and a cognitive domain. The content domains that framed the science curriculum were presented as themes: life and living; energy and change and matter and materials. The cognitive domains were: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and reasoning and analysis