Description
At the outset it must be pointed out that this Macro Indicator Report for the Department of Basic Education was not intended to be an evaluation. There have been previous iterations of this report that
have been statistical journals. The 2013 version constitutes a significant evolution and advance on its predecessors in its improved use of statistics, debate that it facilitates on the appropriateness of
conventional indicators, accommodations of alternative interpretations of trends and general evaluative
tone.
It stands out as an exemplary use of data graphs and statistical analysis not often found in government documents generated in this sector.
If construed as an evaluation it could be typified as an diagnostic evaluation and an evaluation synthesis. Whether or not it is treated as an evaluation it could benefit from a more explicit or better justified theory of change or intervention logic underlying the structure of the report. At the very least, a better rationale
for the performance areas chosen to provide an overview of the education sector, would be welcome. It is currently not an evaluation and it is argued that it should not necessarily be judged as one. However, the authors should be encouraged to conceptualise it as one for future iterations as this would put it on a more powerful trajectory.
