Central Data Catalog

The Standard Four Attainment Test has been administered annually since 1995 to grade 4 (ISCED 1) students in public schools. The Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) prepares the tests, and schools administer and mark them. Test administration and scoring are not standardised across schools, therefore the test does not provide a national picture of the students' performance.

In 2007, the Botswana Examinations Council used the Standard Four Attainment Test as a study to provide a national picture of grade 4 students' performance. Tests were administered at school level and assessment booklets from 103 schools were selected using a stratified random sampling method and marked by the BEC, following standardised conditions.

The Standard Four Attainment Test is generally a high-stake and mandatory school-based assessment. Schools use the assessment results to decide whether a student can be promoted to grade 5 or not.

The Standard Four Attainment Test is a written assessment, administered face-to-face and delivered through paper-pencil tests. All test-takers are presented with the same cognitive booklets or tests, which are aligned with the national curriculum.

The Standard Four Attainment Test generally serves to decide whether a student can be promoted to grade 5. However, in 2007, it also served for:

- sub-national level monitoring of learning outcomes

- monitoring education quality levels

- diagnosing student abilities

The Standard Four Attainment Test accommodates students with special needs, by providing the following arrangements:

- Hearing impairment: sign language; interpretation of questions; modification of language on papers; additional time

- Physical disability: accommodating facilities; rest breaks; additional time

- Emotional disturbance: use of prompters; separate rooms

- Visual impairment: braille; large font; additional time

- Speech language impairment: provision of readers; provision of scribes

- Environmental effect: preferential seats (e.g. students with albinism are not seated directly in direct sunlight)

Census (all students at the given grades or ages)

Results are reported at the student and school levels.