We report in this paper about a qualitative study which explored possible causes of poor performance by high school students when they graphed cubic functions and dealt with problems involving points of inflection. The study was carried out in three schools of the Msukaligwa 1 Circuit in the Gert Sibande District, Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. Differential calculus is a branch of mathematics that is concerned mainly with the study of the rate of change of functions with respect to their variables especially through the use derivatives and differentials. Students have difficulties in learning and mastering this section of calculus as is revealed by examiners� and moderators� reports year after year. Data was collected from written responses of students to assessment task and interviews. Findings emanating from the data analysis indicated that the causes of poor performance emanates from a variety of challenges. These include lack of algebraic skills and conceptual knowledge

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