1.0 Introduction

The number of school candidates was 32 764 and for private candidates it was 8 889. The number of candidates who sat for two or more subjects was 33 579, which is 80, 6% of the total candidature of 41 653.
The total number of candidates who sat for the November ‘A’ level 2015 examination was 41 653 as compared 39 133 in November 2014        . The candidature increased by 2 520, an increase of 6, 4 %. The number of candidates who obtained Grade E or better in one or more subjects was 38 873. This gives a percentage of 93, 3%.

The analysis has been grouped into two distinct categories, namely; School and Private candidates.

Table 1: Number of Subjects written and their entries

The table above includes entries for both school and private candidates.

Table 2: Number of Subject/s Pass Rate Analysis

From the table above the majority of both school and private candidates sat for three subjects, followed by candidates who wrote two subjects. The pass rate is very high for candidates who sat for 3 or more subjects.

Table 3: 2015 November “A” Level National Pass Rate

The table above compares the performance of candidates who wrote two or more subjects in 2014 and 2015. School candidates who sat for two or more subjects were 32 550 and 28 510 obtained Grade E or better in two subjects, which translates to a percentage pass rate of 87, 6%. Private candidates who wrote two or more subjects were 7 962, and 5 069 obtained Grade E or better in two or more subjects, which also translates into a percentage pass rate of 63, 7%. School candidates performed better than private candidates as indicated in the statistics.

A total of 32 550 school candidates wrote two or more subjects in 2015, which is an increase of 6, 3% from 2014. Also, 2015 candidates registered an 87, 6% pass rate which is 4, 99% higher than that of 2014. Private candidates in 2015 performed better than in 2014.

Table 4: Percentage pass rate by gender and number of subjects

From the table above, female school candidates performed notably well in the number of subjects taken.

5.0     Year on Year Comparison of School Candidates by Gender 2014 – 2015

Table 5: Year on Year Comparison of School Candidates by Gender 2015-2014

The table compares the performance by gender of candidates who wrote two or more subjects over a period of two years. There was a notable increase in entries and pass rates for both female and male candidates. The same comparisons in the table above are also presented in Fig 1 and Fig 2 below.

Fig 1: Comparison of candidates who wrote two or more subjects by gender

Fig 2: Comparison of candidates’ pass rate by gender

6.0     November 2015 Subject Pass Rates

Table 6: School and Private Candidates Subject Performance in the November 2015.

In the table that shows November 2015 Subject pass rates, it can be observed that, there was excellent performance by school candidates in most subjects. Geography, being one of the subjects that has a significant increase in pass rate, experienced a steep decline in candidature with only 10 464 candidates registering in 2015 versus 15 061 in 2014, a percentage decrease of 30, 5%. It could therefore be presumed that the decrease in candidature coupled with a better crop of candidates has resulted in better performance in the subject. Other subjects with notable increase in pass rates are; Sociology, French, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Art and Computing. However, there is a slight decrease in performance in Ndebele, Physics, Textile and Design and Business Studies.

7.0       Table 7: School Candidates Provincial Pass Rates

The table above shows November 2015 pass rate by province and by gender. In all the provinces, female candidates outperformed male candidates. However, there were more male candidates than female candidates which may have an effect on their pass rate. It can also be observed that, Harare province female candidates have the highest pass rate of 96, 8 %.

8.0     Conclusion

Generally, the performance of the November 2015 candidates was commendable in most subjects. Reasons for this performance may vary from subject to subject and may only be substantiated by empirical research to confirm the trend in the pass rates. An important point to take note of is that, grading standards have been maintained throughout. The standards have been benchmarked to previous ones and maintained in all subjects.

E.S. Nhandara

Director

ZIMBABWE SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL