A lot of things go wrong with exams in secondary schools
Too much goes wrong with tests and exams in secondary schools. This is the conclusion of the Education Inspectorate in a recent report. For example, in many schools the PTA, the program of assessment and closure, does not comply with the law. Exam regulations too often leave much to be desired.
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In a message on their website informs the inspectorate that the investigation results are 'disappointing'. Minister Slob also calls it 'worrying'. They insist that the examination must be more careful and that schools must work quickly to improve this. For the investigation, the inspectors examined 104 schools from 64 different authorities. The investigation was prompted by the major exam errors that were made at VMBO Maastricht in 2018, as a result of which more than three hundred final exam students were duped.
Minister Slob calls the results 'worrying'
The inspectorate did not encounter such major errors as in the exams at the Limburg school group during its investigation. Yet the examination is 'insufficient'. For example, at almost half of the schools surveyed, the assessment and closure program (PTA) does not comply with the law. It is unclear which parts of the examination program schools test in their school exams, and mandatory parts of the examination program are all too often missing from the PTA.
In one third of schools, the examination regulations do not meet the requirements. For example, the inspectorate saw that the participation council by no means always agreed to the regulations and that they contained sanctions that were not included in the law. The inspectorate also saw problems with implementation. In one fifth of the schools, the school exams do not go as stated in their PTA. For example, schools do not administer all tests as described.
Trust
The inspectors also saw that too little attention is paid to the substantive quality of the school exams. Many school leaders rely on their departments, but there is hardly any guidance. According to the inspectorate, it is an important explanation for all mistakes made during tests and exams.
VMBO
The inspectorate also looked at the centrally written and practical exams at VMBO. With these exams, pre-vocational secondary education students conclude their professionally oriented subjects. They must demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills in the trade they are pursuing, for example by leading a sales pitch or preparing a dish. It is a central exam in which theory and practice are combined. In 2016, the inspectorate also examined these exams once and three years later it appears that little has changed: the quality of the exams is 'almost the same', the inspectorate concludes. Nine out of ten schools surveyed fully comply with the guidelines. Still, students at six schools had to retake the exam because the inspectorate had declared them invalid.
Bottlenecks encountered by the inspectorate were often related to the practical exams. The material was then not the same as prescribed and examiners helped too much in administering the exam. A second examiner is also not always used.
Recommendations
The Inspectorate makes several recommendations to improve the course of the exams. For example, the inspectorate insists that tasks and responsibilities be separated. "There is no distinction between those who ensure quality and those who ensure that the quality is in order," writes the inspectorate. This responsibility should lie not only with subject departments and individual lecturers, but with an examination board, for example. More expertise is also needed on the examinations and rules of teachers, school leaders and boards. In addition, it is not only necessary to check the organization of the exams, but also the substantive quality of the school exams.
Minister Slob let know that he already called on schools to pay attention to their exams in October last year. He wants every school to have an exam secretary and an exam committee.
