Louis Benjamin

Ph.D. ; M.Ed. ; B.Ed. (Psych) ; B.A. S/W.

Practice no.: 890 7609

Registration no.: 10- 14480

15 Atherstone Road, Plumstead, 7800, Cape Town.

Tel: 021-797 9110

Cell: 084 857 8763

Email:

Website:

A BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT FOR

THE ETAFENI DAY CENTRE TRUST

(2012-2015)

RESULTS OF THE TEST OF BASIC CONCEPTS KNOWLEDGE

Maintenance Phase (Year 1): November 2016

  1. Introduction

The Basic Concepts Programme (BCP)wasintroduced at the Etafeni Day Centre Trust fromJune 2012and was actively supported until December 2015. The project is currently in a Maintenance Phase (Year 1) where only light support and consultation is being provided.

The BCPwas run in all groups at the Centre,from the youngest (6 months to 2 years old) to the oldest (5 to 6 years old).Childrenwere assessed at the end of their Grade R year thus allowing an assessment of the cumulative effect of the programme over 4 years. Grade R learners at the Centre have been tested since 2013. The youngest learners at the start of the programmewere in Grade R in 2015, the final year of the project.

The current report provides data from the same assessment measure, however, one year after thewithdrawal of the activeintervention component of the project.

  1. Method

It was initially thought that most learners from the Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust (EDCT) went on to attend Linge Primary School.Thus, baseline data was gathered from a class of Grade 1 learners at Linge Primary School towards the end of the 2nd term 2012. (See report, June 2012.)It subsequently emerged that learners from Etafeni wereenrolling at a number of different primary schools making it impossible to track learners once they entered primary school. It wastherefore decided to test the groups of Etafeni learners towards the end of Grade R while they were still at Etafeni.The test instrument used was in fact designed to gauge school preparedness either at the start of Grade 1 or the end of the Grade R year and this was therefore a more appropriate time to administer the test. This didhowever make it difficult to make accurate comparisons with the baseline data.The current report reflects data gathered during 2012 (Baseline), 2013 – 2015 (Project Phase) and2016 (Maintenance Phase).

  1. Test Instrument: Test of Basic Concepts Knowledge (L. Benjamin, 2005)

This is a screening test designed to assess the understanding of basic concepts. The test assesses learners’ knowledge of the following 6 conceptual systems:- colour, shape, size, position, number and letter. It was designed for the assessment of learner preparedness for formal school learning in Grade 1 at the start of the year. Some validity data on the test has found it to be a predictor of scholastic performance inGrade 1 learners (Benjamin, 2009a, 2009b, 2011).

  1. Results

Key to interpret scores:

Very weak: 0-10

Weak: 11-17

Average-Very Strong: 18-24

The results found thatthe majority (60%,12) of the Grade R learners assessedtowards the end of the year could be considered to beprepared for school learning by November 2016. 40%(8) of the learners were not yet thought to be prepared for Grade 1 at this time of the year.Two learners who were not yet school-readyrequired onlyone point to be considered school- ready at this time of the year. There were no learners who received ‘very weak’ scores on this test.*Two learners whohad recently joined the pre-schoolwere tested butnot included in the analysis.The majority oflearners at the Etafeni Day Care Centre were functioning marginally below the average range (mean score of 17.90) on this test. The mean scores for the project were: 2013 = 17.83 (Grade R), 2014 = 17.10 and 2015 = 18.76, while the baseline Grade 1 groupin 2012 scored 17.00.

*Theselearners attained ‘very weak’ and ‘weak’ scoresrespectively on the test:10 and 16.

The 2016 Grade R class had the second highest percentage (60%) of school prepared learners since the start of the project. There had however been a significant decline (21%) in the number of school-prepared learners since last year (2015). See figure below.

The highest sub-test scores attained werefor colour, size, and number(99%, 92% and 85% respectively), while the lowest sub-test scores were forposition, letter and shape (71%, 63% and 44% respectively). 75% is considered a ‘pass score’for a domain on the test. Threeof the sub-test scores (position, letter and shape) remainedbelow the pass scorerequired.See figure below.

There was an increase in sub-test scoresforsize (+14%) and letter(+1%)compared to last year – these scores were in fact the highest since the start of the project in 2012. There were however also declines in three sub-test scores since last year, namelycolour (-1%), shape (-16%) and position (-13%), while the number subtest score remained the same. The most concerning results were for shape and position which received the lowest scores since the start of the project (-1% and -3% respectively).

  1. Conclusion

While the majority (12) of the Etafeni Grade R learners were ready to start school in 2017, there were some learners (8) who were not yet ready. The average mean score on the ‘Test of Basic Concepts Knowledge’ for the Grade R learners was in factvery close (within.10) to the averagescore required. The results could therefore be regarded as satisfactory.

The most pleasing aspect of the results was the upward trend in the sub-test scores for size and letter. The letter sub-test scores have been increasing progressively from 39% in 2012 to 63% in 2016, while the size scores have been consistently high since the start of the project.

Of the biggest concern however was the decline in the sub-test scores for shape and position. This was particularly worrying when comparing these scores to the baseline results at the start of the project. The shape subtest score is a particular area of concern that needs to be addressed. Shape is a domain that is particularly important for school learning and the development of understandings for both literacy (letter writing and recognition) and numeracy (conceptual understandings and geometry). The results of the position sub-test indicate that additional focus is also required in this domain.

The results from testing are therefore mixed with some positive features related to the increase in some of the scores which might indicatea consolidation effect. However, the poor results in other areas raise strong concerns. The results indicate a need for a continued and consistentfocus on the development of language and conceptual knowledge in the children at Etafeni. The preparation of the children for school learning cannot be taken for granted. Itis therefore important to ensurethat the structures and interventions that have been put into place since the start of the project are working and that the BCP is implemented regularly and consistently.

It is recommended that a final maintenance year be offered in 2017 and some support be offered on request during the year before a final assessment of the Grade R learners at the end of the year. It is hoped that the Grade R children in 2017 can again match and even exceed the 2015 results - where 81% of the Etafeni Grade R learners where school prepared. This should be a goal that the staff and management at the Centre should strive to achieve.

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