Final test becomes part of school advice again.

Final test becomes part of school advice again.

Students get the school advice in February. The school advice is given before the student takes the final test in April or May. Government parties D66, VVD and CDA want to reverse the order. Group 8 students should only get the school advice when the final test results are known. Ouders & Onderwijs agrees with this plan.

Coalition wants school advice for group 8 after the final test

Students in group 8 should only get their school advice when the final test results are known. Now the order is different and children do not have equal chances. This is the view of government parties D66, VVD, CDA and ChristenUnie. (Source: Nos.nl)

Ouders & Onderwijs supports this view.

Equal chances for a tailored school advice

Students in group 8 receive the school advice in February. Once they get this advice, they must register for secondary school. The final test follows in April or May, which is after the registration for secondary school. If the student scores better on the final test than expected, the school advice must be reconsidered. The reconsideration of the school advice only applies in case of a higher score. The school advice must never be lowered and this must remain in the best interest of the student.

In practice, however, school advices are not often adjusted after the final test. Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows that 8 percent of advice changes annually. According to the Ministry of Education, each year 34 percent of students score higher on the final test than the advice. In those cases, only for a quarter of the students the advice is actually adjusted.

The State of Education shows that students with parents who have a lower education level often get a lower school advice. Their advice is also less often adjusted. These students enter secondary education at a lower level and more often move to an (even) lower education level than equally performing fellow students with highly educated parents.

By giving the school advice from the teacher only after the final test, all students get a fair chance for a tailored school advice. The teacher first makes an advice, this advice is checked with the final test, and then all students receive a final advice at the same time. But there are more advantages.

Registering for a secondary school

Students whose school advice is adjusted face practical problems. Currently, schools do not keep enough free spots for students who get an adjusted higher advice. Classes are already full, or a child must go to a completely different school to be placed at the adjusted level. By giving the school advice from the teacher only after the final test, all students get a fair and equal chance when registering for secondary school.

Teacher’s opinion should be leading

The majority of parents value the teacher’s advice more than the test. This appears from research among parents in the Landelijk Ouderpanel. That is why it is important that the teacher’s advice remains decisive for the school advice. The teacher can use the final test result to look again critically at their own advice.

Research Landelijk Ouderpanel

Overall, parents are satisfied with the school advice and the placement of their children at secondary school. This is shown by a poll of the Landelijk Ouderpanel, held in November 2018.

More than 80% of parents and 84% of children are satisfied afterward with the bridge class in which the children ended up. This is a high percentage, indicating that in many cases the formation of the school advice leads to a desired choice for a secondary school. These figures mean nevertheless that in each class of 30 students, there are 5 to 6 students who do not feel in the right place.