Siyavula's Mathematics baseline assessment for Grades 8, 9 and 10

What is a baseline assessment?

The CAPS statement describes a Baseline assessment as a type of assessment alongside Diagnostic assessments, Formative assessments and Summative assessments.

"Mathematics teachers who might want to establish whether their learners meet the basic skills and knowledge levels required to learn a specific Mathematics topic will use baseline assessment. Knowing learners' level of proficiency in a particular Mathematics topic enables the teacher to plan her/his Mathematics lesson appropriately and to pitch it at the appropriate level. Baseline assessment, as the name suggests, should therefore be administered prior to teaching a particular Mathematics topic. The results of the baseline assessment should not be used for promotion purposes."

The Siyavula baseline assessment

Siyavula has created baseline assessments for Grade 8, Grade 9 and Grade 10 Mathematics learners, so that teachers can assess their learners' knowledge and skills at the beginning of high school, or at the start of the FET phase.

The baseline instrument comprises:

50 questions selected from the Siyavula online question bank
Students' answers will be immediately and automatically marked.
Every student will see a unique but equivalent instance of the questions, making copying meaningless.
Students can complete it on mobile phones or any Internet connected device
The Siyavula platform is zero rated for data charges on the MTN, Vodacom and Telkom network.
Students' work are saved as they go, allowing them to return and complete it in multiple sessions

Print out of the baseline instrument:

A PDF version of the online baseline instrument can be downloaded using the links below.
Please note that these documents are NOT intended to be printed and administered as a paper assessment.
They are merely to provide teachers with an easy way of seeing the baseline questions.

Download Grade 8 Mathematics baseline PDF
Download Graad 8 Wiskunde basislyn PDF
Download Grade 9 Mathematics baseline PDF
Download Grade 10 Mathematics baseline PDF

Learner instructions for taking the baseline

To take take the baseline, a student needs to log into Siyavula and enter the correct code into the "Choose a question" box.

Visit Siyavula
Go to www.siyavula.com

Log In with an existing account
1. Students who already have an account on Siyavula and can remember their username and password can click on 'Log In'
2. And enter their username, which could be a mobile number, email address or Siyavula ID
3. And password



Or Sign Up for a new account
1. Students who does not yet have an account can click on Sign Up
2. Select that they are a student
3. Select whether to register with a mobile number or email address



Enter your details

1. Enter name
2. Enter surname
3. Set a password you'll remember
4. Enter email if you have one
5. Enter mobile number if you have one
6. Select your Grade.
7. Select whether you take Maths and Science
8. Start typing the name of your school and select it from the list you see
9. Enter your date of birth
10. Select whether you prefer English or Afrikaans



Wait 5 minutes for the assignment to be sent to you

The learner homepage will look like this
Wait for 5 minutes for the baseline assignment to appear on your homepage
You can refresh by clicking on the Siyavula circle







Open the baseline assignment

After 5 minutes look for the baseline assessment under your Assignments
Click on the 'Start' button to open the baseline assignment



Or enter the shortcode
If you can't see the assignment under your assignments, you can still open the baseline
Find the "Choose a question" box on your homepage




Find the relevant shortcodes for the baselines in the table below:

Grade	Shortcode
Grade 8	G8-MB1
Grade 9	G9-MB1
Grade 10	G10-MB1

To start the baseline for a specific grade, students type the shortcode into the "Choose a question" box.
For example, to access the Grade 8 Mathematics baseline, a student will type "G8-MB1" into the "Choose a question' box and click the "Practice



Answer the questions
Type the answer into the box and click "Check answer"




If you answer is incorrect you'll get asked if you are sure about your answer.
You have a choice whether to adjust your answer or click 'Check answer'



If you answer a question incorrect you can try it again by selecting 'Try an exercise like this again'



If you can't correctly answer the question after two tries, or answered it correctly, move to the next question by selecting ' Go to next exercise'



Continue until you've completed all 50 questions

Reporting for teachers to track completion and performance:

Reports available to teachers

Teachers can track the participation and completion of the assessment by their students online.
A report will be available for each individual learner and the whole school with a detailed breakdown of performance by topic and item.
These reports can be accessed online, will update in real-time and can be downloaded as Excel files for offline use.

Log In or Sign Up as a teacher

To view these reports, a teacher needs to log into Siyavula with a verified teacher account or their school admin account.
If you have an existing teacher account on Siyavula then 'Log In'
If you don't yet have your own teacher account, then 'Sign Up' for a teacher account

Open your Teacher Dashboard

After logging in you'll see you homepage
Find and click on the 'Teacher Dashboard' button



Your Teacher Dashboard will look something like this:

If not verified then request to be verified

In order for us to reveal the names and performance of individual students to you, we need to verify that you are a real teacher at the school
If you see the notice below, then your user account has not yet been verified
To request verification, just click on the 'Verify me' button and complete the form
You'll receive a WhatsApp or email from us within 24 hours to confirm your identity
Once verified you'll receive an email notification and the notice on your Teacher Dashboard will disappear

Open the baseline assignment report

To see the baseline assessment report for your grade, click on the 'Assignments' report for the grade you teach



You'll see a link to the baseline report. Click on it to open the report.



The report will look something like this

Download the baseline report

To download an Excel version of the baseline report, click on the download button



You'll see tabs with different information related to the baseline

Open an individual learner's baseline report

To see the baseline report for individual student, click on their name

Participating as a school

Any school, both public and private, are invited to participate in the baseline assessment.
The Gauteng Education Department issues a provincial circular related to the baseline for Grades 8,9 and 10 Mathematics
The Free State Education Department issues a provincial circular related to the baseline for Grade 8 Mathematics
The Western Cape Education is expected to issue a circular related to the baseline for Grade 8 Mathematics
Schools not participating as part of a provincial initiative can also opt in, complete this form and the Siyavula team will contact you.

Support and training

Teachers can contact Siyavula using the WhatsApp helpline : 060 036 5999
Or email us on support@siyavula.com

Updated on: 16/04/2023