Yearly Archives: 2014

So, You Want to be an Accountant?

2014-06-10T13:19:47+00:00

Are you considering a career as an accountant?  Accountants communicate financial information about a business to users.  To do this they need to analyse what has happened and present it in an appropriate manner. If you love numbers, problem analysis and solution and you are comfortable around people and around computers, you might consider accounting.  Accountants assist firms to manage their finances so that they meet legal requirements and enable good financial planning and management.  They must be good communicators with sound judgement and high levels of integrity. To be considered for more advanced tertiary courses in accounting you must have [...]

So, You Want to be an Accountant?2014-06-10T13:19:47+00:00

Understanding school performance: High School selection

2014-05-26T09:51:14+00:00

School selection can be a nightmare for even the most informed parents. In this post we try to help share some of the ways in which SAILI chooses scholarship high schools. The driving force behind SAILI’s success is getting the best “bang for buck” we can from the schools on offer. To make sure we give our funders the best “return on their investment” we scout for strong candidates and place them in the strong schools. How we scout for candidates is a topic for another day but, how we identify strong schools is the topic of this post. [...]

Understanding school performance: High School selection2014-05-26T09:51:14+00:00

So, You Want to be an Engineer?

2014-05-20T12:20:47+00:00

Engineers are problem solvers. To solve problems, they use scientific and mathematical principles as tools. To be an engineer, you must have a strong aptitude for problem solving, mathematics, chemistry and physics, physics is probably the most important tool. You must be interested in applying these scientific principles to the real world.  If you are interested in building, understanding, and making things better and more efficient, engineering may be right for you. […]

So, You Want to be an Engineer?2014-05-20T12:20:47+00:00

So, You Want to Study Medicine and Be a Doctor?

2014-05-06T14:06:10+00:00

You might be drawn to medicine careers if you are people-oriented and you love science.  You might want to be a doctor because the pay is great and it is a prestigious career.  The sad reality is that there many people loving, science loving teens out there and most of them don’t get to be doctors.  What does it take? What can you do if you don’t have what it takes but you wish you did? […]

So, You Want to Study Medicine and Be a Doctor?2014-05-06T14:06:10+00:00

Study Skills Part 2: Stress Management

2014-04-14T12:21:31+00:00

Stress, even the word can conjure up vivid images and feelings of butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms and fuzzy thinking.  Whilst too much stress will slow down your ability to study and retain information, not enough stress will see you lying in hammock in the sun instead of studying for that maths exam.  How do you get a balance?  Stress management is the answer. […]

Study Skills Part 2: Stress Management2014-04-14T12:21:31+00:00

How to Read a School Report

2014-04-02T09:28:03+00:00

Research has shown that the more actively parents participate in a child’s education, the better that child will do.  But don’t panic, you don’t have to actually understand the work your child is doing!  Just turning up at their school, for any event, has a positive impact on their work motivation.  Whilst you might not need to brush up on algebra, you should learn to read your child’s report. […]

How to Read a School Report2014-04-02T09:28:03+00:00

Study Skills Part 1: Time Management

2014-03-25T13:32:12+00:00

There is always so much to do and time never seems to stretch the way we want it to.  So often we get our exam results back and think… I could have studied more!  If you would like to get more done in less time, with more fun, then read on for Study Skills Part 1: Time Management. Hint 1: Sort out your nest!  That corner of your house where you like to burrow down and study?  It needs to be sorted.  It does not need any empty OR full snack packets.  It does not need last year’s notes and text [...]

Study Skills Part 1: Time Management2014-03-25T13:32:12+00:00

Attacking school data: Introducing a guide for ANA assessment data analysis

2014-03-14T09:27:11+00:00

Annual National Assessments (ANAs) now take place all the way through primary school (Grades 1-6) and also at grade 9. In the Western Cape – students also write provincial tests at Grade 3, 6, and 9 (called systemics or LitNum tests). While there is debate about the about these assessments – it is clear that far too many students perform poorly for us to be comfortable with the results. The Department of Basic Education Released the ANA Report 2013 in December and I am finally getting around to reading it. Predictably, the results make for pretty dismal reading.   […]

Attacking school data: Introducing a guide for ANA assessment data analysis2014-03-14T09:27:11+00:00

History or Geography? A surprise finding…

2014-03-12T11:07:20+00:00

The Department of Education has released their report on the 2013 National Senior Certificate.  The departmental push for increased bachelor passes as well as increased maths and physical science passes is evident throughout.  SAILI noted in our blog last week, that taking maths does not always help with gaining a matric pass (see our post: Maths or Maths Lit).  However, as a general trend, we are seeing stronger performance in maths and science with the maths pass rate up from 54% to 59.1% and the physical science pass rate up from 61.3% to 67.4%.   Probably the greatest surprise in the [...]

History or Geography? A surprise finding…2014-03-12T11:07:20+00:00

Maths or Maths Lit? Making sense of Matric subject selection.

2014-03-04T12:36:45+00:00

Inappropriate Matric subject selection in Grade 10 contributes to poor results and failures in Grade 12.  The most problematic subject is maths.  There has been a drive in recent years for more learners to take maths and hence improve our overall number of maths passes.  Due recognition is given to the crisis in scarce skills industries such as science and technology which rely on maths as a gateway subject to tertiary studies. When students who could do well in maths take maths lit we lose potential human capital. Equally we must also acknowledge that for the many learners taking maths (those [...]

Maths or Maths Lit? Making sense of Matric subject selection.2014-03-04T12:36:45+00:00

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