This article helps you find out why marks, tasks or assessments are not pulling through from d6 to SA-SAMS. It is for school administrators, curriculum staff and d6 support staff. Work through the five checks in order: never assume, always check.
A mark only reaches SA-SAMS when all five of these hold:
A real mark exists (Check 1).
It sits on an active, weighted task or assessment (Check 2).
The item maps to an SA-SAMS task or activity (Check 3).
The learner records match (Check 4).
An export has run since the marks were captured (Check 5).
My School > Curriculum > Curriculum Setup > Setup Learning Programme
Red: Subject level (Steps 1 and 2).
Orange: Task level (Steps 3 and 4).
Green: Assessment level (Steps 5 and 6).
Blue text: Marks have already been captured on this item.
Mark out of: A mark out of changed on a marks capturing screen is first converted back to the mark out of set in Step 4 or Step 6, then exported to SA-SAMS.
Setup Learning Programme is the school's control point, managed by users with Curriculum Setup rights. The Preset follows the Department's national CAPS standard or POA (Programme of Assessment), in line with the latest SA-SAMS version.
My School > Learners > Marks per learner or Marks per group
The code captured decides how d6 averages the mark and what SA-SAMS receives. The table below shows what each code means.
| Mark on d6 | Meaning | Effect on the d6 result | SA-SAMS receives |
| 0 | Real zero mark | Counts as 0 out of the total and pulls the average down | 0 (for example, work not completed or an invalid reason) |
| * | Not handed in | Scaled to level 1 (29%) and counts in the average | Scale mark 1 (29%), valid reason |
| a | Absent | Left out, so the remaining marks are averaged | -1, averaged out of the end result (valid absent reason) |
| blank | Not captured | No mark, so the result is incomplete | -2, shown in red as not captured (required) |
The table below lists common symptoms for Check 1, their likely cause and the fix.
| What you see | Likely cause | Where to look on d6 and fix |
| Blank on d6, red -2 on SA-SAMS | Mark not captured, or not saved | Mark capture screen: capture and save; use a or * if no mark exists |
| 0 for an absent or late learner | Zero typed instead of a or *, so it counts as a true zero | Mark capture screen: capture a (absent) or * (not handed in) |
| Marks on green, orange empty | Assessment weight or mark out of is 0 | Step 6: set the mark out of and weight per assessment |
| Marks typed on orange disappear | The green assessments (Step 6) roll up into the orange task and overwrite it | Steps 5 and 6: capture on green where assessments exist |
My School > Curriculum > Databases > LU/Tasks or Assessments
Marks on unselected, inactive, deleted or 0-weighted items stay on d6 but never count in results or export to SA-SAMS. The table below lists the symptoms and fixes.
| What you see | Likely cause | Where to look on d6 and fix |
| Task or assessment missing | Not selected or activated for that term or task | Step 3 (task) or Step 5 (assessment): select and activate it for the term |
| Marks vanished after a change | Item made inactive or deleted after capture | Steps 3 and 5: reactivate it; never deselect or deactivate blue-text items |
| Captured, result unchanged | Task weight is 0 (analysis only) or mark out of is 0 | Step 4: set the weight from the CAPS Preset or Content Guide |
| Task ignored in the term | Task date falls outside the term dates | Step 4 date versus term setup: move the date inside the term (use the fix button on the outstanding compliance task, if available) |
| Mark not counted for the subject | The type (SBA, PAT or Exam) has no Step 2 weight | Step 2 versus Step 5 types: align the types and weights (the most common issue) |
My School > Compliance > CAPS/DCAPS Content Guide
SA-SAMS only accepts its own subjects, SubjectCriteria (tasks) and Activity IDs (assessments). The table below lists the symptoms and fixes.
| What you see | Likely cause | Where to look on d6 and fix |
| School-added item never exports | Custom item with no SA-SAMS ID | Steps 3 to 6 versus the CAPS Preset: capture official marks on the Preset item |
| Fails after a new SA-SAMS patch | Preset outdated, or task superseded by the DBE | Preset versus SA-SAMS version: escalate to Compliance |
| Copied or renamed subject fails | The copy lost its SA-SAMS subject link | Step 1 versus the official subject: relink it to the official subject |
| Term 3, Term 4 or promotion missing | Get from or get from multi-link not set | Receiving term task setup: link it to the source subject or task |
| PAT or exam marks misplaced | Assessment type Exam set under a PAT task | Step 5 assessment types: correct the assessment type |
| Assessment weight and mark out of both 0 | Intentional: the assessment should not calculate or export to SA-SAMS | Step 6: set the weight and mark out of if the assessment must calculate and export |
My School > Curriculum > Subjects and Subject Group Allocation
When only some learners fail, the learner record is usually the cause. The table below lists the symptoms and fixes.
| What you see | Likely cause | Where to look on d6 and fix |
| One or a few learners missing | Subject not allocated in d6 or SA-SAMS | Learner subject allocation: allocate the same subject in both |
| Learner's marks land nowhere | ID, admission or LURITS number differs | Learner record in both systems: correct the identifiers and merge duplicates |
| New or moved learner missing | Admission or class change not in SA-SAMS | Learner record and class: update SA-SAMS, then re-export |
My School > Compliance > Export to SA-SAMS Database
d6 exports results to SA-SAMS weekly, termly and at year-end. The table below lists the symptoms and fixes.
| What you see | Likely cause | Where to look on d6 and fix |
| Recent marks missing | Captured after the last export | Last export date: wait for, or request, the next export |
| Nothing arrives at all | Exported to a different SA-SAMS database | Live SA-SAMS database: point the export at the live database |
| Export fails or partly loads | SA-SAMS is behind the current DBE patch | SA-SAMS version: install the latest patch, then re-export |
| Old results in SA-SAMS | Results not recalculated after a setup change | Term results on d6: recalculate, then re-export |
Escalate to Support, or to Compliance for Preset issues, with the following:
School: School name and EMIS number.
Item: Grade, subject, term, task and Activity ID.
Learners: Two or three example learners with ID numbers.
Screenshots: The mark capture screen and Steps 2 to 6.
Versions: SA-SAMS version and last export date.
Progress: Which of Checks 1 to 5 are already done.
Remember that weights affect results, and the mark out of affects rounding, especially when it is small. Marks captured on an incorrect or old Preset task or assessment can be moved to the correct one once it is activated.
A mark only reaches SA-SAMS if it is a real mark on an active, weighted task or assessment that maps to SA-SAMS, the learner records match, and an export has run since capture. Check each of these in that order.
A -2 means no mark was captured on d6, or it was not saved. Capture and save the mark, or use a (absent) or * (not handed in) if no mark exists.
0 is a real zero that pulls the average down. a (absent) is left out of the average and exports as -1. * (not handed in) is scaled to level 1 (29%) and counts in the average.
When a task has assessments, the assessment marks (Step 6) roll up into the task and overwrite marks typed directly on it. Capture the marks on the assessments instead.
This is usually a learner record issue. Check that the subject is allocated in both d6 and SA-SAMS, and that the ID, admission and LURITS numbers match in both systems.
SA-SAMS only accepts its own subjects, tasks and Activity IDs. A school-added item has no SA-SAMS ID, so capture official marks on the matching CAPS Preset item.
Term results on d6 must be recalculated after a setup change. Recalculate the results, then re-export to SA-SAMS.
Last updated: October 2026 | Version 1.0