Dutch education standards continue to lag despite repeated warnings

The Education Inspectorate of the Netherlands says that many pupils in the Netherlands are still lagging behind in core skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. In its latest report, the inspectorate warns that efforts by schools, school boards, and the government to turn the trend around have not yet been reflected in measurable improvements, an issue it has been raising for several years.

In the report State of Education, various examples are listed. For instance, in lower secondary education, there is “still a continuous and substantial decline in performance in reading comprehension and vocabulary across all school types compared to the pre-COVID period.”

Performance in mathematics and arithmetic is also worsening, especially in pre-vocational secondary education (vmbo), while in vocational education (mbo), results are falling in the final national Dutch language exams.

One in three students in mbo level 1 completes their education with insufficient language skills, according to the report, while the proportion rises to 38 percent among graduates of mbo level 4 programs.

A two-year-old survey by the Education Inspectorate of the Netherlands of 225 randomly chosen schools found that over 20 percent received an insufficient rating for overall quality. At the time, the caretaker Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Mariëlle Paul, said improvements were necessary and introduced a recovery plan.

However, the latest sample shows little change, with roughly one in five schools in primary, secondary, and special education still performing below the required standards.

“A bleak picture,” said Inspector-General Alida Oppers in an explanation of the report. “There is a need for good news, but the turning point in the trend has not yet arrived.”

The Education Inspectorate stresses in its latest report that school leaders should receive greater attention and support, describing them as pivotal to school quality. The inspectorate also points to striking regional disparities in primary school advice.

In strongly urbanised areas such as the Randstad, pupils receive adjusted end-of-primary recommendations more often (88 percent) than in less urban regions (68 percent).

According to the inspectorate, this contributes to differences in educational trajectories. Pupils in the north and east with a vmbo-(g)t/havo recommendation are more likely to end up in vmbo-(g)t, while those with the same advice in the Randstad are more likely to progress to havo.

In addition, educational “stacking,” moving on to a higher secondary level after earning a diploma, is more common in the Randstad than elsewhere.

“We owe it to ourselves to improve the quality of education,” said Education Minister Rianne Letschert in response to the report. “This State of Education report once again underlines that,” said Letschert.

State Secretary Judith Tielen added that reading, writing, and arithmetic must remain a “top priority,” as confirmed by the findings.

“The importance of better education in our country can hardly be put into words,” said the minister. According to her, strong education is “a prerequisite for a safe and happy future.” The minister notes that people in education are motivated to improve quality.

Student and pupil organisations are calling for action on unequal opportunities and high-performance pressure in education, based on findings from the report.

The Landelijke Studentenvakbond (LSVb) argues that it is unacceptable that graduates who enter a university master’s programme after completing a higher professional education (hbo) bachelor’s degree tend to earn less, on average, than those who follow the same master’s after a university bachelor’s degree.

“Studying hard should be rewarded, especially when you move from higher professional education (hbo) to university (wo),” said chair Maaike Krom. “You are still disadvantaged by where you started, even if you ultimately achieve the same level of education as others.”

Students are also concerned about other forms of inequality. The inspectorate report shows that students with a non-Western background are less likely to be admitted to programmes with a numerus fixus. “The political system really needs to do something about this,” said Krom.