How useful is the DDD Dashboard to you, in your day-to-day work? Click here to share your rating, or scan the code with your phone to do it via mobile.           ON THE DDD CALENDAR       Five webinars in the next two weeks give you every possible chance to get the most out of DDD before term 2 ends. Click any link below to reserve a seat, or book via the DDD Learning Hub (in the “Events” section):         TOPIC: Login and navigation. New to DDD or in need of a recap? Join this webinar for a step-by-step view of how to log in to the dashboard, and how to navigate and use the main features.           TOPIC: Profiling for School Management Teams. Learn how to profile individual learners, track specific subjects, develop interventions and monitor learners from term to term, all via the Learner Chart Report.           TOPIC: Using the Educator Information report to support your educators. Learn how to use the new visualised Educator Information Report; how the insights work in conjunction with the Detail Page; and how to apply these insights in your day-to-day work.                     DATA NEWS AND UPDATES       DO THE RIGHT WORK, AND THE DATA WILL DELIVER         Capturing complete and accurate data via SA-SAMS, starts in the classroom. And when you get this right, the data will deliver all the insights we need and more. This was the message from national EMIS Director, Ayesha Suleman, speaking at a recent DDD stakeholder event (above). What can DDD do to help you (or your school) improve the quality of your data submissions? Click here to tell us.
	VALISTRACTOR UPDATED A new version of Valistractor (8.3.0.0) went live on Wednesday 11 June. All schools who open Valistractor while connected to the internet, will be automatically updated to this new version.     SPECIAL HOLIDAYS ADDRESSED The special holidays for the week ending Friday 2 May, are now excluded from the validation process. This ensures that submissions are accurately validated, and school data reflects correctly on the dashboard.   EASIER TROUBLESHOOTING A new support button is included in the Valistractor, enabling schools and EMIS officials to securely send logs, SA-SAMS databases, and contact information to the DDD Helpdesk, via Valistractor, in just a few clicks.
	BRIGHT SKIES AHEAD: WHAT AI COULD DO FOR YOU       Imagine predicting the weather. You don’t just look at today’s sky; you analyse years of patterns: wind, temperature, humidity. Over time, algorithms learn that certain conditions often lead to rain. In a similar way, artificial intelligence (AI), and more specifically machine learning models, can predict whether a learner is likely to pass or fail the year. Here’s how it works: Machine learning systems are trained using massive datasets – millions of records from students across the country over many years. These records include things like test scores, attendance, and term promotion outcomes. Just as weather models spot clouds before a storm, a machine learning tool can detect early warning signs of academic struggle. So, when a new learner finishes their first term, this tool compares their results with thousands of past learners who had similar early patterns. If many of those students later failed the year, the system raises a flag. Importantly, machine learning isn’t guessing: it is finding hidden trends too complex for humans to spot. While it can’t say exactly what will happen, it gives teachers and parents a powerful early signal – much like a weather forecast so they can step in with support before it’s too late. Machine learning doesn’t replace human care, but it helps guide it with insight. DID YOU KNOW: In the coming weeks, DDD will roll-out a new Promotion Prediction report that uses machine learning to predict year-end promotions for learners. Watch this space for updates.
	MOGALAKWENA MAGIC: “We won’t taste failure again!”       With more than 100 000 learners in sparsely located schools, Mogalakwena District in Limpopo is short on resources and big on challenges. Despite this, it went from being one of the lowest-performing districts at the end of 2019, to being the best in less than three years, with the help of DDD. Ms Manakedi Matsepe, Chief Education Specialist in the province, explains: “Due to our rural location, there is high staff turnover in the district. You need data at your fingertips to track and profile new educators, as teacher development is key to improving learner performance. We use DDD for this, and it works!” The district’s NSC pass rate in 2024 not only put them at the top of the province’s performance chart, but it also beat the national NSC pass rate average, with an impressive 87,8%. Ms Matsepe adds that adopting a data mindset has led to better quality of data capturing and submission at schools – the critical starting point for sound data-led decision making. It has also done wonders for classroom morale: “Successful teachers and learners are happy teachers and learners – and DDD has helped us to achieve that.”
To share feedback on this newsletter email: Communication@newleaders.co.za       For DDD technical assistance contact: help@dbedashboard.co.za                             dbedashboard   The DDD programme is an initiative of the Department of Basic Education, in collaboration with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and New Leaders Foundation.

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