Teachers worried about reliability of new primary school exit exams

School directors are concerned about the new advancement tests that children in group 8 wrote for the first time this year ahead of their advancement to secondary education. The results of these tests deviate so much from students’ preliminary school advice that school leaders worry about the testing method’s reliability, the Volkskrant reports.

Misha Berlin, director of the Wilhelminaschool in Helmond, told the newspaper that about 30 percent of the group 8 students scored better on the advancement test than expected. At five other schools in the city with which he regularly works, the same picture appeared for almost half of the students. “That is unprecedented,” he said, adding that it is in no one’s interest if a student ends up at a higher level than they can handle.

Other schools also found results that deviate a lot from kids’ previous performance and test results. “Of our 35 group 8 students, four scored higher and nine lower than the school advice,” Hilde van der Geest, director of the Gledlerlandschool in The Hague, told the newspaper. “We have children who consistently received VWO advice, also based on intelligence tests. Now, there is a MAVO-HAVO recommendation from the advancement test.”

This year, the advancement test replaced the final test to promote equality of opportunity during the transition from primary to secondary education. Research by the Ministry of Education found that over 70 percent of students did not receive a higher recommendation from their school if the results of their final tests turned out better than expected. Ethnically diverse kids, girls, kids in rural areas, and kids from families with a weak socio-economic position were particularly disadvantaged by this.

The test did not change in terms of design - the results show what level students have achieved in language and mathematics. The big difference from previous years is that schools are now obliged to give “promising” advice - they must adjust the secondary school advice upward if the advancement test results are better than expected. Adjusting downard is not allowed.

The PO Raad, the interest group for primary schools, is aware of the unrest about the deviating test results. “We are surprised and critical about this,” a spokesperson told the Volkskrant. “It is not okay with us that students’ level suddenly deviates so much. This way, little will come of the promising advice.”

The Ministry of Education told the newspaper that it has received questions about the deviating results of the advancement tests. According to the spokesperson, it is not a cause for concern. “The advancement tests also provide reliable results this year.” She added that the results of the test cannot be properly compared with previous years due to the new standards.

The Board for Testing and Examinations (CvTE), which is responsible for the quality and standardization of the advancement tests for the first time this year, only expects to be able to draw conclusions about the results by September. “As soon as we have the final figures, we will report on the national picture,” a spokesperson said. “We would like to do this accurately and precisely.”

By Friday, all group 8 students hould have their final school advice with which they can register for secondary school.