Educational performance is declining, segregation is growing
The balance between the autonomy of schools and the social importance of good education for everyone has been lost, according to the annual report 'The State of Education', published today. The picture that Inspector General Monique Vogelzang paints in the preface is gloomy. Educational performance is declining, the segregation between underprivileged and promising continues.
Image: Front cover of the State of Education report
'If it is this sunny economically, it may be time to be optimistic, but where necessary, somber and honest about education. Performance is declining. And then we must not only focus on our position in the international rankings, but simply note that the Dutch figures also show that school performance in math and reading shows a steadily declining trend. We cannot settle for that. There are also schools that are doing better, so it is possible. And you still want all children to have a good education. Then why don't we do that? '
Inspector General Monique Vogelzang of the Education Inspectorate.
Somewhere halfway the report the Education Inspectorate comes up with a philosophical question that summarizes the sombre tone well. Insufficient quality now equates to 'not complying with the law'. The question is whether the opposite also applies: does 'complying with the law' also mean good quality education? So no. In the eyes of the inspectorate, too many schools are satisfied with a pass and do not strive for a 'good'. And there is no 'perseverance' to bring it about.
But then it is not up to the government to adjust the standards, as it is constitutionally the guardian of the quality of education.
"I wouldn't want to start with that. No, the conversation about higher ambitions as a social task is a task for everyone. It's about trust in all parties to strive for good education, by boards, directors and teachers. If that doesn't happen , then the government may have to raise the standard. But you still hope for intrinsic motivation from all parties in education."
So no stricter rules.
"The government itself can start looking at the assignments to education. The assignment is often open to multiple interpretations. Citizenship has been made compulsory as a subject, but without a clear objective. Is the assignment to education well formulated?"
Vogelzang sees this on more points. There is a final test required, but there are now so many final tests allowed a good image of the final level to become invisible. The attainment targets and final exams in secondary education do provide direction and level, but insufficient. Vogelzang hopes that the updated curriculum sets clearer requirements for the end result.
"Not for all subjects, but for the core. What do we expect from schools and students on a number of important topics. I really hope that the curriculum discussion succeeds in providing more direction."
Suitable education
Another place where the Inspectorate sees a lot of ambiguity in the report 'The State of Education' is in appropriate education. The goals are not clear, there are differences per partnership in terms of funding and support policy. This leads to 'misunderstood situations' and differences in funding for pupils with the same problems. The strong criticism in the report is that there is no guidance for defining extra support, the target group or the approach. "I continue to find that difficult," says Vogelzang.
Read the comment from AObchairman Liesbeth Verheggen on the report in the message: 'Teacher shortage puts improvement in educational quality under pressure'.
