Minister is looking for a solution to exam drama
Minister of Education Arie Slob wants to avoid as much as possible that final exam students from two Limburg pre-vocational schools have to repeat the year. For each student it is examined what needs to be done in order to still obtain the VMBO diploma.
Picture: National government
Last Friday, Slob known that 354 pupils from the VMBO schools Porta Mosana College and the Sint Maartencollege in Maastricht are the victims of an exam drama. These schools come under the Limburg Secondary Education (LVO). The VMBO students, who thought they had passed, were told that their exam had been declared invalid.
The Education Inspectorate discovered major mistakes during the school exams, which students already take during the school year. Exams were either not administered at all or incomplete. There were holes in the administration and not all figures were entered or available. It means that the students have not fully completed the Program of Testing and Closure (PTA) and they should not even have taken the final exam.
Custom Made
Slob informed the House today that the inspectorate also found shortcomings in the core subjects of Dutch, English and mathematics. “We are now looking at what needs to be done to get a diploma. That will be custom work. We have to look at what is missing for each student and what is needed to still obtain the diploma. ”
We now look at what needs to be done to get a diploma. That will be customization. We have to look at what is missing for each student and what is needed to still obtain the diploma
There should be no doubt about the diploma, Slob said. The minister rejected the suggestion to give the students their diploma based on the central final exam. The school exam is decisive in assessing whether a student is ready for further education.
Clause
This morning the minister also mentioned the "hardship clause." This rule gives the minister the option of leaving the scores obtained in the central written final exam. Slob announces that this will be viewed in the coming days. “The hardship clause is part of the search for a solution. We want to prevent students from having to repeat a year as much as possible. ”
On Wednesday, the minister hopes to have an overview of what needs to be done per student and then it should also show when any resits can be taken. In the meantime, the Board for Tests and Exams is reviewing the final marks of the central written exams. There are no indications that the assessment of the central exams went wrong, but the ministry wants to check this.
Drama
Slob called it an unprecedented drama and administrative failure. “I've been a minister for eight months, but I've never felt so bad. I sympathize with the parents and students who have been affected. They live in uncertainty and are rightly angry and sad. ”
