Background: South African primary school learners have participated in several national and international literacy (reading and writing) studies that measure learners’ achievement in different grades and at different intervals. Numerous scholars have analysed the results of these assessments. We extended their analyses by investigating the grade coverage and the aspects of literacy that were included in these assessments, as well as whether the learners’ home language impacts their results. Aim: The authors aim to determine how reliable the results of these assessments are in improving and informing policies relating to literacy teaching in primary schools and to provide recommendations to improve the administration of literacy assessments. Method: Literature on various national and international literacy studies that were conducted in South African primary schools from 2000 to 2016 was identified and analysed according to grade, province, languages in which the assessments were conducted, aspects of literacy that were included in the assessments and the accuracy of the results. Results: The analysis provides evidence that suggests that most literacy assessments target learners in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4–6) and are not available in all 11 South African official languages. Presently, there are no large-scale literacy assessments for Foundation Phase (Grades 1–3) learners. Moreover, the results of these assessments do not provide us with reliable information about literacy levels in the country because there are vast discrepancies in assessment scores. Conclusion: This article highlights the importance of obtaining reliable information in determining literacy levels in the country and in informing decisions regarding literacy-related policies.

中文翻译：

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对南非小学进行的扫盲评估结果的分析

背景：南非小学学习者参加了一些国家和国际识字（阅读和写作）研究，这些研究衡量学习者在不同年级和不同时间段的成绩。许多学者分析了这些评估的结果。我们通过调查这些评估中包括的年级覆盖率和识字方面，以及学习者的母语是否会影响他们的成绩，来扩展他们的分析。目的：作者的目的是确定这些评估结果在改善和告知与小学识字教学有关的政策方面的可靠性，并提供建议以改善识字评估的管理。方法：根据年级，省份，进行评估的语言，评估中包括的识字方面和准确性，确定并分析了2000年至2016年在南非小学进行的各种国家和国际扫盲研究的文献结果。结果：分析提供的证据表明，大多数扫盲评估针对的是中级阶段的学习者（4-6年级），并非所有南非官方语言都提供。目前，没有针对基础阶段（1-3年级）学习者的大规模识字评估。此外，这些评估的结果并未为我们提供有关该国扫盲水平的可靠信息，因为评估得分存在巨大差异。结论：