Hundreds of PABO graduates less due to training requirements
The prior education requirements that have been in force at the PABOs since 2015 for geography, history and nature & technology cost hundreds of graduates every year. Education Minister Slob maintains the requirements, but does want to remove bottlenecks. This is evident from various reports and letters that have recently been published.
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Havists and MBO students who want to go to PABO and who have not taken their final exams in geography, history and nature & technology, have had to demonstrate since 2015 that their knowledge in these areas is of a sufficient level. The idea is that such a test means that less time is lost at the teacher training college with updating the students' knowledge. Moreover, it would increase the quality of the graduates.
Decrease in intake
Immediately after the introduction of the requirements, it became apparent that the influx of teacher training colleges plummeted. The intake from HAVO fell by about 20 percent, from MBO by 50 percent: in total this is about 1200 fewer students. The effect of the requirements is greater for female aspiring students and for students with a lower socio-economic status or a migration background.
Slightly more than half of the surveyed PABO students report that they experience little or no benefit from the test
Also - somewhat controversial - tests have led to a slightly higher flow from the first to the second year of the PABO, the Central Planning Bureau (CPB) concludes in a recent report 'The effect of special further prior education requirements on the teacher training college'† However, this increase cannot by far compensate for the large decrease in influx. 'The number of students completing the PABO will decrease', predicts the CPB.
Decline
It is not yet possible to say exactly how big this decrease will be, because no figures are yet available on the number of graduates. The CPB does have figures on the interim transfer, and immediately after introduction about eight hundred fewer students started the second year of the PABO. It therefore seems safe – with 1200 fewer entrants and 800 fewer transferees – to say that the requirements cost at least hundreds of graduates every year.
Profit
The effect of the tests on the quality of the trainees and – soon – the quality of the graduates is not yet clear, according to the recent report 'Evaluation of prior education requirements for PABO' by ReserchNed† Just over half of the teacher training students surveyed report that they experience little or no benefit from having passed such a test.
The test assignments are screened for a possible 'Western bias'
And only twenty percent of the surveyed school leaders see a positive effect of the tests on the motivation of trainees and starting teachers. But only a small proportion of the surveyed school leaders and teachers (15 percent) advocate abolishing the tests.
Abolish
Minister Slob does not intend to do the latter, he writes in a letter in mid-December letter to the House of Representatives† He wants to remove the bottlenecks. He wants to invest even more in crash courses and study material with which students can prepare for the tests, as is already the case. To encourage prospective students with a migration background, Slob wants to screen the test assignments for a possible 'Western bias'. He also wants to make agreements with the teacher training colleges about a possible summer school for this group of aspiring students.
