Moderation and condonation both allow a narrowly failing learner to progress, but they work differently and are applied on different tabs. This article covers the rules, the order in which they must be applied, how to carry out each one, and how the result appears on the progression schedule. It applies to Grades 4 to 9.
My School > System: Curriculum > Promotion Requirements: Final Decisions
Before you start
All marks must be captured for every learner before you begin.
Moderation and condonation must be completed before final year-end submissions.
Moderation (adjustment) is a small, limited increase to a learner's actual marks. Use it when a learner needs a nudge of 5% or less to reach the pass mark. It is applied on the Marks tab.
Condonation ignores a subject that would otherwise cause the learner to fail. No marks change. Use it when a learner narrowly fails a specific subject but still qualifies to progress. It is applied on the Decisions tab.
Moderation changes marks. Condonation changes only the outcome. If you find yourself changing a mark, you are moderating, not condoning.
Home language must be adjusted first, before any other subject.
Adjust home language plus a maximum of three other subjects.
The adjustment range is 1% to a maximum of 5%.
Marks below 35% cannot be adjusted.
Capture the minimum pass mark, for example 50 for home language, reached by no more than 5%.
An adjustment may only be made if it results in the learner being progressed.
Condonation is always done last, after all adjustments.
Only one subject may be condoned.
Mathematics may be condoned if below 40%.
A first additional language may be condoned if below 35%, provided mathematics was not already condoned.
One other subject that is not a home language and is below 25% may be condoned, provided neither mathematics nor a first additional language was condoned.
If both a first additional language and mathematics are affected, condone one and adjust the other.
Learner needs 5% or less in mathematics and up to two other subjects to pass: mathematics can be adjusted.
Learner needs 5% or less in three other subjects and also fails mathematics: mathematics is condoned instead.
Mathematics is below 35%: it cannot be adjusted, only condoned, provided all other promotion requirements are met.
Go to My School > System: Curriculum > Year-End Formulas: Subject-Specific Formulas.
Select the year, set the Formula Type to Promotion Mark, open the Subject-Specific Formulas tab and choose the grade.
Each subject should show a circle threshold and a formula type of Custom Formula.
Where a subject has no formula, change the type to Custom Formula, click Edit Formula, then click Use Preset. This resets the formula to the structure prescribed by the Department of Education and SA-SAMS.
If Use Preset is greyed out, hover over it. It will show the reasons and the path to fix them.
If a promotion mark does not calculate as you expect, this screen is almost always where the problem lies.
Go to My School > System: Curriculum > Promotion Requirements: Final Decisions. Note that Term Decisions is for viewing, while Final Decisions is where you select the formula type you set up, such as the promotion mark.
Confirm you are on the correct year and grade. Sort by moderated decision, clicking twice to bring retained learners to the top.
Hover over the i under calculated decision to see why a learner was retained, and the i beside the learner's name to see the underlying marks.
Double-click the learner to open the moderate decisions window.
For immigrant learners, apply the appropriate concession first. Select the immigrant or language concession from the concessions dropdown before doing anything else.
On the Marks tab, adjust the home language first, then up to three other subjects. Set the reason to Moderate.
On the Decisions tab, set the moderated decision to Progressed with adjustment. The other options are promote, progressed due to phase or age, and retained (not promoted).
Select the reason. The most commonly used is that the learner progressed or was condoned due to the condition specified by the departmental circular. Where only mathematics was condoned, use the reason referring to the mathematics mark having been condoned.
Select who it is authorised by, either the school principal or the district assessment team, then Save. Confirm, and wait for the success message.
Afterwards, a moderated subject shows an asterisk when you hover over the eye. Hovering over Progressed with adjustment shows the reason you selected, who moderated it and who authorised it.
Generate the schedule at Reports > DOE > Curriculum > Progression Schedules, with the report header set to Promotion Schedule.
C prints for mathematics or a first additional language when the learner is progressed with a mark below 40% for mathematics or below 35% for the first additional language. C means condonation, not adjustment. A mark adjusted up to 40% should not show a C. A C for other subjects below 25% is not yet supported.
Red marks fall below the pass threshold.
Purple marks are those that could be adjusted to allow the learner to progress.
Red and purple are not errors. They relate to the condoning option, which activates the departmental rules set out in the national assessment circular.
The schedule shows the original mark, not the moderated one
A mark adjusted from 36% to 40% still prints as 36%. This is expected behaviour, not a fault. d6 retains the learner on the calculated decision once you save the Decisions tab, and the exporter corrects the decision for SA-SAMS so that the learner progresses correctly along with the relevant statistics.
The most common cause of incorrect symbols on the schedule is doing the steps out of order.
Always adjust the home language first.
Condone a first additional language or mathematics last.
Only one subject may be condoned. If two are affected, adjust one and condone the other.
If the schedule looks wrong, check that the home language was adjusted before the other subjects, and that only one subject was condoned and that it was done last. Correct the affected subject, save again, and recheck the schedule.
No, this is expected. d6 retains the learner on the calculated decision once the Decisions tab is saved, so the original mark prints. The exporter corrects the decision for SA-SAMS so the learner progresses correctly with the right statistics.
A C means the subject was condoned, not adjusted. It prints for mathematics below 40% or a first additional language below 35% where the learner has been progressed. A mark adjusted up to 40% should not show a C.
No. They relate to the condoning option, which activates the departmental rules from the national assessment circular. Red marks fall below the pass threshold, and purple marks are those that could be adjusted to allow a learner to progress.
No. Marks below 35% cannot be adjusted. Where mathematics is below 35% it can only be condoned, provided all other promotion requirements are met.
No. Only one subject may be condoned. If both a first additional language and mathematics are affected, condone one and adjust the other.
This is a known limitation and is being updated by d6 development in the back end. No action or follow-up is needed from your school.
Almost always the steps were done out of order. Check that the home language was adjusted before any other subject, and that only one subject was condoned and that it was done last. Correct the affected subject, save again, and recheck.
Moderation and condonation are available for Grades 4 to 9, and must be completed before final year-end submissions.
Last updated: September 2026 | Version 1.0