Primary schools in Dutch country side perform better than city schools: report

Primary schools in the Dutch countryside achieve better results on their final tests than those in the city areas, according to RTL Nieuws' annual school study. The 890 primary schools in the Netherlands' most urban areas scored an average of 6.93. The 1,511 primary schools in the least urban areas scored an average of 7.05.

The broadcaster analyzed the results of group 8's final tests, previously called the CITO test, at primary schools across the country over the past three years, and then gave the schools a score compared to similar schools. On average, Dutch primary schools scored a seven.

Of the Netherlands' four large cities, Rotterdam primary schools got the best scores with an average of 7.14. Schools in The Hague came in second with an average score of 7.00, followed by Amsterdam with 6.79 and Utrecht with 6.77.

Looking at Dutch cities with at least 10 primary schools, Maastricht schools did best. The city's 28 primary schools scored an average of 7.59. Purmerend got the lowest score. The city's 21 primary schools scored an average of 6.11.

RTL also looked at the pupils' background, so that schools can be better compared. As in previous years, Islamic and Reformed primary schools scored better than Catholic, Protestant and public primary schools. The 49 Islamic primary schools in the country scored an average of 7.29. The 163 Reformed primary schools scored an average of 7.19. Roman Catholic and Protestant primary schools both scored above the national average, with 7.03 and 7.01 respectively. And the 2,055 public primary schools in the Netherlands came in just below the national average with a score of 6.9.