Exam results: A broad analysis

After waiting anxiously for the release of the 2014 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) results, those that sat for both the “O” and “A” Level examinations have now reaped what they sowed.

The announcement of the results brought with it both joy and despair with those that passed mapping the way forward, whilst those who failed went back to the drawing board.

A number of positives were drawn from the results, chief among them the improvement of the “O” Level pass rate by 10 percent as compared to the previous year.

The “O” Level pass rate improved to 30,85 percent after coming in at 20,72 percent in 2013.

After playing second fiddle to girls in the “A” Level examinations, boys came out strongly in the “O” Level examinations.

In the “O” Level results, performance by boys (27,23 percent passed) was better than that of girls (18,76 percent).

In 2013, boys (27,41 percent), also outperformed the girls (18,51 percent).

Despite the improvement in the pass rate, an analysis of the results reveals massive discrepancies and inconsistencies.

As a result of the unusual trends that saw some schools performing well in “O” Level examinations but then producing unsatisfactory results in “A” Level examinations and vice-versa, a lot of questions arise. In the “A Level examination results, for example, St Faith’s topped the national list after its students performed better than those from other schools.

Interestingly, the students that sat for the “O” Level examinations at the same school managed 12th position nationally.

Kriste Mambo students performed well in the “O” Level results, coming out second across the country. But those who sat for the “A” Level examinations at the same school were placed number 46.

Nyanga’s Emmanuel Secondary School did well in the “O” Level examinations, registering an 86,27 percent pass rate. Students from the institution who sat for the 2014 “A” Level examinations, however, came out number 49 in the national rankings. Educationist Dr Caiphas Nziramasanga attributed the above scenarios to a number of factors.

“In schools that perform well at ‘A’ Level, the possible reason might be that the schools might have carefully selected the students that progress to ‘A’ Level from ‘O’ Level. The students are carefully screened by the subjects they would have passed, the schools they would have attended and also the environment they would have grown up in,” Dr Nziramasanga said.

According to Dr Nziramasanga, such schools might fail to produce excellent results in the “O” Level examinations since they tend to concentrate more on “A” Level.

For the schools that performed better at “O” than at “A” Level, Dr Nziramasanga said this could point to careful screening of prospective Form One pupils.

Although the majority of people we interviewed spoke against schools that “poach” the best “O” Level students so that they achieve successes with them at “A” Level, Dr Nziramasanga defended the practice, saying what mattered most were the results.

“Competition is all about attaining the best results. In my view, there is nothing wrong in the practice. I, however, feel that the practice marginalises the students that would have not performed exceptionally well,” Dr Nziramasanga said.

Church-run boarding school dominate both “O” and “A” Level results lists, a factor which was attributed to their thorough screening processes.

Despite the fact that some of the traditional powerhouses “poach” students from other schools, little-known schools such as Chikwingizha and Emmanuel secondary schools performed beyond expectations.

Chikwingwizha was on number 20 on the “A” Level national rankings.

Students from this school performed better than their counterparts from such schools as Goromonzi, Gokomere, Queen Elizabeth and Kutama College, among other prominent institutions.

“Excellent performances by previously unknown schools can be attributed to changes in leadership at such schools. Some headmasters, for example, can motivate the teachers by changing their attitude towards work, resulting in improved pass rates,” said Mr Trymore Moyana, a retired headmaster.

But educationists and parents are generally agreed that the way schools are ranked is not a true reflection of the schools’ capabilities.

“How accurate is this ranking? Which school should be ranked first between a school which recruits pupils with only four units and achieves a 90 percent plus pass rate and a school which recruits pupils with even 36 units and went on to achieve a 50 percent ‘O’ Level pass rate?” queried blogger Tarubva.

Dr Nziramasanga concurred, adding that those schools in the top 100 on the rankings were not necessarily the best institutions. “We need to look at each and every school individually. There is need to look at the teachers and the headmasters, their attitudes towards their work, otherwise the examination rankings are not a true reflection of what will be happening on the ground.” Mr Moyana expressed concern regarding Zimsec’s consideration of an E as a pass mark at “A” Level.

“I don’t see why this should be the case. In my view, this compromises the quality of the students that proceed to university,” Mr Moyana said.

Dr Nziramasanga, however, defended the consideration of an E as a pass mark.

“Examinations do not tell us the attainment levels of students. Whether one has an A or an E does not mean much. As or Es are only classifications that are used to select students,” Dr Nziramasanga said.

According to Dr Nziramasanga, the majority of the best universities in the world, among them Cambridge and London universities, consider an E as a pass mark.

Calls have been made for Zimsec to release figures showing the 10 worst performing schools in the country so that parents and guardians can make informed decisions when selecting schools for their kids.

In the past, the examination body used to publish the names of the 10 worst schools and the last time Zimsec released the list was for the November 2011 “O” and “A” Level examinations.

In the 2011 examinations, the Midlands churned out the worst schools, with Malisa Holy Trinity and Educare College being named the worst “O” and “A” Level schools, respectively.

“As a parent or guardian, I have the right to know which school is performing well or not so that I can make informed decisions. Some of the school authorities are not putting any efforts and should, therefore, be named and shamed,” said Mr Taurai Murapa.

Ms Nicholette Dlamini, the Zimsec public relations manager, responded: “It is not in our interests to publish the worst performing schools. In the past, we used to publish the list, but we have since stopped doing that for reasons that I will not mention.”