The results of the assessment tests from the last academic year demonstrate considerable problems of consolidating learning in Portuguese in the 8th year and one “systematic decrease in the quality of learning” in Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the 5th year.
The conclusions released this Thursday in a statement by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) are based on the national results of the assessment tests for the 2nd, 5th and 8th years of basic education carried out in 2024 and made available this Thursday by the Institute for Educational Assessment (IAVE).
“Taking into account the difficulty of making comparisons due to the type of these tests and their application”, highlights the MECI, the guardianship highlights the difficulties in Portuguese in the 8th year, with the results showing “considerably less consolidated learning than in previous years, particularly in the field of reading and, in general, in receptive skills (comprehension)”.
It also highlights the results in the 5th year Mathematics and Natural Sciences test, which “have been showing a systematic decrease quality of learning, regardless of the year and the assessment instrument used”.
“Although it has never been possible to identify very solid performances in the results of this test throughout its application calendar, the low results in the areas of Natural Sciences in the 5th year are worrying”, the statement reads.
The MECI also adds that the publication of national test results will now take place annually in November, considering that “in order for the external evaluation to contribute to diagnoses at a systemic level, it is important to ensure that the national report is published as soon as possible” .
“Starting this school year, will be held annually in early November, offering predictability in the publication and analysis of data on student performance. Also from this school year onwards, in addition to the national report, there will be reports at municipal level, in order to inform at local level about the state of learning”, says the guardianship.
The 2023/2024 academic year was the last in which assessment tests were carried out, with the application of the new Learning Monitoring Tests (ModA) starting at the end of the current academic year, carried out by students in the 4th and 6th grades. .th years, that is, at the end of the cycle, and not in an intermediate phase, as happened with the assessment tests.
The tests will assess learning in Portuguese and Mathematics every year “and a rotating discipline every three years”.
“The new model of external assessment of basic education students will allow the comparability of results between academic years and between years of schooling, becoming an instrument at the service of schools and teachers, strengthening the diagnosis of learning to be improved. Thus , it will be possible to check the trends in the evolution of student results, by implementing in Portugal a monitoring model that follows best international practices”, argues MECI.
The guardianship also believes that it is essential to improve learning by timely disseminating school, class and student reports “before the start of the school year, as they contain detailed information with formative value for educational establishments to reflect on strategies pedagogical and didactic practices to be adopted, in order to promote improved learning and educational success for students”, highlighting that this has already happened this year.
Source: rr.sapo.pt
