Can a public examination be

a form of RPL?

SAQA RPL Conference 25 February 2014

Elizabeth Burroughs

Umalusi

This is Lufefe from Cape Town. National Senior Certificate for Adults I think is a brilliant idea If …. an adult can just do his 1year matric level and get his matric after he has completed and passed of his final Exams , in that way you would educate the nation, I believe and I know that a lot of adults like me want to obtain matriculation and I hope NASCA will make that dream possible. Whoever who came up with NASCA came up with a good thought. Thank You. Yours faithfully Lufefe from Cape Town. END

Recognition of prior learning

Sets of practices used to identify, recognise and acknowledge the value of learning achieved in a range of situations, usually unrelated to the formal context where the recognition for such learning is sought.

Recognise 1 - ‘herken’ - instrumental

Recognise 2 – ‘erken’/ acknowledge –

psycho-spiritual

An Overview of the GED Tests April, 2008

Sylvia E. Robinson

Assistant Vice President, American Council on Education and

Executive Director, General Educational Development Testing Service™

®

GEDTS History

1942 – American Council on Education commissioned to develop assessment to measure outcomes of high school education

1947 – New York State was the first state to test civilians

1974 – GED high school equivalency credential becomes a powerful second chance in all 50 states

2007 – 728 930 Test takers; 451, 750 passed

29, 208, 608 since 1942

What the GED tests measure

GED – General Educational Development - candidates who pass the 7 ½ hour battery of five tests are awarded a credential that certifies attainment of high school level academic knowledge and skills at a level that surpasses 40% of graduating high school seniors

Tests – Mathematics (Content areas & cognitive domains): Science (Life Science; Earth & Space Science; Physical Science); Social Studies (National History; World History; Geography; Economics; Government & Civics plus cognitive domains); Language – Writing: Passages – Organization, sentence structure, Usage, Mechanics) and Essay; Reading – Fiction & non-fiction and cognitive areas

The generalized cross section below shows the sedimentary rock layers at Niagara Falls in western New York State.

Which rock layer appears to be most resistant to weathering and erosion? Lockport dolostone Rochester shale Grimsby sandstone Queenston shale

Connections between qualification variants

Within sub-framework

Two new(ish) qualifications – 2008 and 2009 – fruits of new democracy

Two proposed NQF Level 4 adult qualifications

Two older qualifications

Level 4 – National Certificates – ‘Matric’/School-leaving/ end of Basic Ed

National

Senior

Certificate

(NSC)

National

Certificate

(Vocational)

NC(V)

Senior

Certificate

(SC)

Old NSC

(colleges)

* N-course

National

Senior

Certificate

for Adults

(NASCA)

National

Independent

Certificate

(NIC)

The National Senior Certificate for Adults

The NASCA - a response to an extended period of political turmoil followed by almost two decades of political dilatoriness which has resulted in the disruption of education for many.

As far back as 1994, the ANC’s Yellow Book spoke of the needs to address the learning needs of adults, and those of black adults in particular.

For many years, ABET – adult basic education and training – has been the only attempt to deal with the basic numeracy and literacy needs of adults.

The National Senior Certificate for Adults Based on the philosophy and design of the

American GED, the NASCA approaches the challenge of achieving those general educational developmental goals with adults in mind.

Adults cannot return to school for years to acquire the same number and set of subjects as a school-going child whose primary focus is learning for seven hours a day.

NASCA is designed first and foremost to draw on the capacities that adults will have acquired and to hone those abilities to manage learning in more formalised contexts.

NSC and NASCA : target groups

NSC

16 – 19 year olds

School-going – full-time

Completing final (FET) phase of basic education

+ 883 000 failures (between 2008 and 2011) - + 33% of total in public schools

NASCA

People over the age of 18 who left school without attempting the final year(s)/exams (‘out-of-school’ youth/NEET group) -10.5 million (2011 census)

School-leavers who wish to improve their chances for entry into higher education

Adults who have completed a GETC(A) and ECE and who wish to continue learning

Working adults who wish to get a matric

NSC and NASCA: structure

NSC

Three year qualification

Offer 7 subjects (130 credits)

Pass 6

Minimum pass – 30/40/50 in combinations

SBA – 30% of final mark

2 languages, maths/ML

Designated subjects

Various admissions to HE

NASCA

No attendance prerequisite

Offer 4 minimum (120)

Pass 4

Pass at 50%

No programme/ internal assessment requirements

Language, maths/ML

All subjects recognised

Various HE admissions intended

NSC and NASCA: assessment

NSC

Three year qualification - pass Gr 10, Gr 11 & Gr 12

SBA – compulsory 30% of final mark (even if subject is failed)

National external examinations – 70%

Examined once a year in October & November

NASCA

No time bound constraints affect access to assessment

Short-term: paper-based examinations offered once or twice a year; conventional quality-assurance measures

Medium- term: Assessment on demand

Candidates write diagnostic test, and book assessment based on their results

Pre-standardised items as QA –IRT link between NSC & NASCA

Features of NASCA assessment Clear reporting requirements – evidence based

design approach to assessment

What do we want to say successful candidates can do?

What evidence can we use to be able to report on those claims?

What tasks will candidates need to do to offer evidence?

Less content-based than skills based: how can one use, say, Natural Sciences, to understand and use information to identify and solve problems (ELO 1)? – about general educational development

Quality assurance for the NASCA

Quality established through:

Qualifications at NQF Level 4 (comparability)

Common fundamental subjects

Curricula with similar coverage

Appropriate learning and teaching materials

Suitable institutional locations and qualified teachers

Quality of assessment

Benchmarking the NSC and the NASCA (IRT)

Research

Advocacy

Certification

Can the NASCA be a form of RPL? 1 With the NASCA, all persons over the age of 18 to have access to assessment opportunities through which their general educational development can be identified and formally recognised through the issue of a certificate.

No formal entry requirements for the qualification;

The qualification leaves open how the necessary skills and learning must be acquired: no programme requirements for access to the final assessment. (Nonetheless, the qualification does point to certain special programme characteristics to support NASCA learners);

Can the NASCA be a form of RPL? 2 Can be offered in a range of contexts and in

combinations of learning approaches;

Allows for reporting on the value of knowledge and skills acquired to be formally recognised;

Successful NASCA candidates will be recognised as having general educational skills and knowledge comparable to those acquired by Grade 12 learners in the school system;

Multiple opportunities allowed to improve marks, though certain time constraints will apply; and

Once delivered as envisaged, assessment on demand will be a reality for adults in this country.

Articulation and the NASCA Strong ties with adult stream: GETC/GETCA and ECE

NASCA – a clean and limited set of options open to adults who have had no access to the SC or the NSC

Limited but demanding learning - four 30 credit subjects as opposed to the 6 of the SC and the 7 of the NSC – adult structure limits articulation w school qualifications

Acquisition of academic skills required for further learning – access to Higher Education dependent on curriculum and quality of assessment - HESA/HE involved in design; in curriculum development

As with the NSC, recognition in the workplace – aim to be like GED, accepted in >90% of workplaces

Going to scale

For the NASCA to succeed, long-term commitment is needed from the state for the complex demands of implementation, in terms of funding for:

Curriculum development

NASCA teacher education and full-time employment

Responsible institutional location

Advocacy with general public, business and higher education

High quality teaching and assessment, and

Funding student enrolment.

Joe Samuels, in his opening address, spoke

about:

• The second wave of opportunity

• The critical importance of quality learning

experiences for our citizens

• The challenges and cost of implementation,

and

• The fact we dare not fail those in need.

Sent: 18 November 2013 11:59 AM

To: info

Subject: NASCA

Goodday

My name is Nolwandle I'm interested in getting the NASCA, I'm a 29 year old and dont

have matric, I'm currently unemployed and facing difficulties getting employement.

I would like to know where I can enrol and what are the requirements. I reside in

Soweto, Gauteng any information and advice will be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Regards

Nolwandle Mavundla

‘Yellow book’ – January 1994

Second, there is lack of access or unequal

access to education and training at all

levels of the system. Vast disparities exist

between black and white provisions and

large numbers of people, in particular,

adults, out of school youth and children of

pre-school age, have little or no access to

education and training.

A Policy Framework for Education and Training

What about an ASCA

An African Senior Certificate for Adults?