Many primary schools ignore high score final test
One third of the primary schools studied do not adjust the school recommendations - which should help with the placement of eighth graders in secondary education - if the test score of pupils is higher than the advice given. This has emerged from research by the Education Inspectorate.
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"The fact that schools are working on a reconsideration is particularly important this year," the inspectorate said.
All students in group 8 received school advice from their teacher before 1 March. They will then take a final test between April 15 and May 15. The scores of these tests will be known around this time and schools will receive the results. If the results of the final test are higher than the school advice, the teacher must reconsider the school advice and adjust it upwards if necessary.
Promising
This review is particularly important this year, finds the inspection. 'Because of the corona crisis, it was more challenging for schools this year to establish the school advice. For example, the schools had less up-to-date test data than usual for these group 8 students. ' The service therefore actively calls for the advice to be adjusted. This is in line with the earlier call by Minister of Education Arie Slob to give 'promising' advice, because schools do not always have an up-to-date image of students due to school closures.
Due to the corona crisis, it was more challenging for schools this year to establish the school advice
Yet it turns out from research of the inspectorate that one third of the schools surveyed will not revise the advice. The consideration here is that the schools consider the school advice more appropriate to what a pupil shows them in the cognitive field. Another reason lies in the work attitude and motivation of the student. An equally large proportion of schools let the inspectorate know more often than in the past that they will give a higher recommendation when in doubt.
Weigh heavier
The survey among 31 schools in February and March this year shows that schools this year are looking more closely at other aspects of their students. For example, 16 percent of the schools surveyed indicate that the 'soft student characteristics', such as work attitude, motivation, independence and behavior, were more important. Two in ten schools gave more weight to the history of the student at school and what they have shown in recent years in terms of developments, 10 percent paid more attention to the home situation and XNUMX percent of the schools consulted with colleagues or other education professionals. The Inspectorate indicates that the corona crisis and distance learning helped various schools to gain a better picture of the independence of students and their home situation.
31 percent of the schools indicated that motivation, work attitude and independence were more important in the advice
scores
The Board for Tests and Exams let know that the corona year has been taken into account. The scores of the 83 students who took the central final test, one of the tests from which schools can choose, are known. The CvtE has reviewed the results of all final tests (IEP, Route8, Dia, AMN and Central Final Test) and adjusted the standards. As a result, students had to score a point lower for, for example, a HAVO recommendation. 'There is a small, but demonstrable learning delay due to the corona measures. The boundaries of the testing advice have therefore been carefully adjusted on the basis of the nationally established learning delay, so that students receive the most suitable advice, despite the circumstances', the CvtE writes on its site.
On average, the pupils scored 535 points for the central final test this year. The range is between 500 and 550. In 2019 it was an average of 536,1. The final test expired in 2020. In newspaper Trouw said STAIJ driver and former chief inspector of the inspectorate Arnold Jonk that this small difference in score shows that the backlogs have largely been made up if you look at the subjects language and arithmetic.
