The National Benchmark Tests

Introduced in 2005, the NBTs were commissioned by Higher Education South Africa with the main task of assessing academic readiness of first year university learners as a supplement to Secondary School reports on learning achieved in content specific courses. Some universities use the Matric certificate results and the NBT results to steer their placement decisions. The NBTs asses the ability to combine aspects of prior learning and consists of two (2) parts:

• Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL); 3,5 hours in the morning and
• Mathematics (MAT); 3 hours in the afternoon, on the same day.