Examples of research

questions handled by

SACMEQ National Teams

EXAMPLE 1

What were the within-school and

between-school variations in Grade 6

reading achievement?

Variation in Grade 6 reading achievement (2000)

Within-school Between-school

Amount % Amount %

Botswana 58 74 20 26 Kenya 42 55 35 45 Lesotho 21 61 13 39 Malawi 17 71 7 29 Mauritius 108 74 38 26 Mozambique 29 70 12 30 Namibia 30 40 44 60 Seychelles 143 91 15 9 South Africa 43 29 103 71 Swaziland 29 64 17 36 Tanzania 49 64 27 36 Uganda 31 40 48 60 Zambia 48 68 23 32 Zanzibar 38 75 13 25

Variation in Grade 6 reading achievement (2000)

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

ZAN

ZAM

UGA

TAN

SWA

SOU

SEY

NAM

MOZ

MAU

MAL

LES

KEN

BOT

Between-School Variation Within-School Variation

Variation in Grade 6 reading achievement (2000)

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

ZAN

ZAM

UGA

TAN

SWA

SOU

SEY

NAM

MOZ

MAU

MAL

LES

KEN

BOT

Between-School Variation Within-School Variation

Total variance

Large SEY, SOU, MAU

Small MAL, LES

Within-school

Large SEY, MAU (streaming)

Small MAL, LES

Between-school

Large SOU, NAM (apartheid history), UGA?

Small MAL, LES, MOZ

Less equitable school systems

More equitable school systems

Between-school variation is a

measure of equity, thus ….

EXAMPLE 2b

What percentage of Grade 6 pupils had

acceptable reading skills?

Percentage of Grade 6 pupils with acceptable

reading skills in 2000

Poor Skills (Levels 1 to 3)

Acceptable Skills (Levels 4 to 8)

Botswana 26 74 Kenya 17 84 Lesotho 63 37 Malawi 78 22 Mauritius 33 68 Mozambique 18 83 Namibia 70 30 Seychelles 19 81 South Africa 50 50 Swaziland 13 87 Tanzania 18 82 Uganda 47 53 Zambia 69 32 Zanzibar 41 59 SACMEQ 40 60

Percentage of Grade 6 pupils with acceptable

reading skills in 2000

Percentages of pupils with acceptable reading skills in

2000 (Levels 4 to 8)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Malawi

Namibia

Zambia

Lesotho

South Africa

Uganda

Zanzibar

SACMEQ

Mauritius

Botswana

Seychelles

Tanzania

Mozambique

Kenya

Swaziland

EXAMPLE 4

How did social and gender differences

compare across the system?

High SES

(one std. dev. above national mean SES)

Low SES (one std. dev. below national mean SES) Difference

Botswana 587 543 44 Kenya 611 574 37 Lesotho 466 457 9 Malawi 456 437 19 Mauritius 786 711 75 Mozambique 535 520 15 Namibia 487 461 26 Seychelles 778 722 56 South Africa 550 513 37 Swaziland 563 543 19 Tanzania 605 565 41 Uganda 506 492 14 Zambia 500 459 41 Zanzibar 507 482 25

Differences in Grade 6 reading achievement of high

SES and low SES pupils (2000)

Differences in Grade 6 reading achievement of high

SES and low SES pupils (2000)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Mauritius

Seychelles

Botswana

Zambia

Tanzania

Kenya

South Africa

Namibia

Zanzibar

Swaziland

Malawi

Mozambique

Uganda

Lesotho

Less social equity

More social equity

Gender differences in Grade 6 reading

achievement in 2000

Girls Boys Difference

Botswana 535 508 27 Kenya 547 547 0 Lesotho 455 447 8 Malawi 426 432 -6 Mauritius 551 524 27 Mozambique 515 519 -4 Namibia 452 447 5 Seychelles 615 550 65 South Africa 505 479 26 Swaziland 534 525 9 Tanzania 539 555 -16 Uganda 486 480 6 Zambia 441 440 1 Zanzibar 478 480 -2

Gender differences in Grade 6 reading

achievement in 2000

-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80

TAN

MAL

MOZ

ZAN

KEN

ZAM

NAM

UGA

LES

SWA

SOU

BOT

MAU

SEY

Girls betterBoys better

Large gender inequity inSEY

Streaming favours girls

Group Split

Average Reading Score

1 2 3 4510

515

520

525

530

535

540

545

550

555

560

565

570

575

580

585

590

595

600

605

610

All Kenyan Pupils in Sample

N=3074 Mean=547.3

Rural/Isolated Schools

N=2047 Mean=531.0

Female Teachers

N=631 Mean=589.9

Male Teachers

N=396 Mean=563.8

Female Teachers

N=794 Mean=541.0

Male Teachers

N=1254 Mean=524.6

Girl Pupils

N=345 Mean=593.5

Boy Pupils

N=285 Mean=585.6

Boy Pupils

N=209 Mean=566.8

Girl Pupils

N=188 Mean=560.5

Boy Pupils

N=407 Mean=542.4

Girl Pupils

N=387 Mean=539.5

Boy Pupils

N=625 Mean=527.5

Girl Pupils

N=628 Mean=521.7

City/Town Schools

N=1027 Mean=579.9

Tree Diagram for

Kenyan SACMEQ II Sample

(Criterion = Mean Reading Score)

Source : Ross, K. N . & Makuwa , D . (2008). "SACMEQ: Linking Policy Concerns with Educa tiona l Po licy Resea rch". Paper p resented a t the ISSC Interna tiona l Symposiumon Knowledg e and Transforma tion: Socia l a nd Human Sciences in Africa ,Cape town, South Africa , 28 November 2008.