The second language paradox: Bridging policy and pedagogy using results from large-scale assessment studies

The racialised history of South African education, rooted in colonial and apartheid policies, has deliberately marginalised indigenous languages while privileging English and Afrikaans. This legacy still shapes current educational inequities. Despite post-apartheid policies that mandate mother-tongue instruction in the foundation phase, a large percentage of learners continue to demonstrate low levels of language proficiency. The gap between policy intent and classroom reality can be attributed to historical inequities, the perceived economic benefits of English, and assessment systems that prioritise performance and curriculum coverage over learning. Collectively, these factors create what we term the second language paradox. This paradox poses core challenges for improving teaching and learning in the Foundation phase. However, teachers and education officials lack targeted information to identify and address specific learning and teaching challenges. Without this information, appropriate classroom decisions and informed system interventions cannot be adequately made. To address this gap, this paper argues for a shift in how assessment results are reported, from percentage and scale-score reporting to performance-level reporting systems that provide detailed information on what learners know and can do. The study draws on secondary analysis of Grade 3 reading data from the South African Systemic Evaluation Study, conducted in 2022 on a nationally representative sample of schools. Using an exemplar from an anonymised district, the paper demonstrates how performance-level reporting provides more actionable insights for identifying and addressing the challenges faced by second language learners across diverse contexts. The paper concludes with key recommendations to strengthen the use of performance level reporting for addressing policy and practice constraints that undermine teaching and learning quality in South African schools.