In September 2013 over 7 million learners in Grades 1 - 6 and Grade 9 in South Africa were assessed to determine their levels of competency in Literacy and Numeracy. This was the third time since 2011 that an assessment of this magnitude has been conducted under the umbrella of the Annual National Assessment (ANA), an initiative of the Department of Education (DBE) to improve the quality of performance in the system.