The 2019 South African component of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) has expressed concern at the rate of improvements in mathematics and science for Grade 9 learners.

“While the improvement in educational achievement is recognised, the concern is that the rate of improvement is decreasing. The improvement rate for mathematics and science achievement for the 2003 to 2011 period was 7.4 points and 7.1 points per year respectively (67 points for mathematics and 64 points for science over this period).

“However, for the 2011 to 2019 period these figures fall to 4.6 points and 4.8 points per year (an improvement of 37 points for mathematics and 38 points for science over this period),” the study revealed.