Substantial drop in Cito final test
Far fewer eighth graders will take the Cito Central Final Test this year. In April, more than 107 thousand students will be examining this final test, according to preliminary figures. That is about 60 percent of the total number of students in group 8 who have to take a final test. In 2015, 86 percent of the eighth graders took the Cito final test.
The IEP End test and ROUTE8 test in particular have grown in popularity over the past two years. Since 2015, these tests have been offered in addition to the Central Final Test. Compared to 2015, the number of students taking the IEP Final Test of Bureau ICE this school year, whether compulsory or not, has increased six-fold to 45 thousand in total. ROUTE8 has also seen a significant increase: in 2015 nearly 3500 students took this test. This year it concerns five times as many students, namely 18 thousand.
Schools could register for a final test until the end of January. On January 26th State Secretary Sander Dekker of Education in a letter to the Second that schools have even more choice this year. In addition to the three final tests that have been available since 2015, three more will be added this school year.
Additional registrations
The spokesperson for the Board of Tests and Examinations (CvtE) that issues the Cito Central Final Test reports that additional registrations are likely to be added. 'Based on the experiences of the past two years, it is expected that, even if the registration has formally closed, thousands more students will be enrolled.'
In a press release writes the provider of the IEP Final Test that the need for renewal of final testing in primary education continues to grow. 'Enthusiasm about the IEP is growing enormously. The positive reactions from current IEP schools show that the IEP does what it was designed to do: give every child the opportunity to really show what they can do.
Level playing field
The CvtE states that the growth of the other tests is a result of the 'level playing field' as wanted by the House of Representatives. "The Central Final Test is a government test," the spokesperson e-mails. 'We have no commercial interest and are therefore not concerned with the number of schools that opt for the test.'
