News item | 04-12-2024 | 10:00
Schools are making progress when it comes to the learning performance of students in basic skills. At the same time, there remains a great urgency to improve these performances, especially in secondary education. This picture emerges from the progress reports on the Basic Skills Master Plan and the National Education Program that are being sent to the House of Representatives today. Both primary and secondary schools have received subsidies to improve skills. The majority experience noticeable progress in the performance of their students. This especially applies to primary schools.
State Secretary Mariëlle Paul (Fundamental Education and Emancipation): “I am very pleased with all the hopeful signals that show that students perform better in basic skills. We see that the approach of the Basic Skills Master Plan works. It seems very likely that the schools that receive the subsidy to improve skills, have managed to reverse the downward trend in learning performance. But we are still far from there, there is still a lot of work to be done. This applies in particular to lower secondary education Master plan and I am giving it an extra boost with the Recovery Plan for the Quality of Basic Education. I am now working on this with the educational field.
Schools see progress
Almost 2 years ago, an initial group of almost 650 schools started working on improving the basic skills of language, arithmetic, citizenship and digital literacy. They did this with a subsidy from the Basic Skills Master Plan. Research into the experiences of these schools now shows that schools in primary education in particular see progress among students in the areas of language and arithmetic: more than 80% indicate that clear steps have been taken. In secondary education, 60% indicate that they see good progress in those learning areas. Students’ progress is monitored in, among other things, the student monitoring system and with the results of tests and tests. A quantitative study into the educational performance at these schools will follow next year.
Schools indicate that they would not have been able to achieve the same results without the investments with the money from the subsidy scheme. Consider, in particular, further training of teachers in language and arithmetic. Almost all schools see a positive effect on that expertise within the school.
The new progress report of the National Education Program (aimed at recovery after the corona period) also shows that more than half of school leaders in basic education experience an improvement among students in all skills. Furthermore, research shows that in the 2023-2024 school year, 4 years after corona, there will be higher average learning growth in reading comprehension and arithmetic compared to the period before the outbreak of the pandemic. The recovery is also visible in the well-being of secondary school students and in equality of opportunity.
Recovery in arithmetic after corona
The clear recovery, especially in primary education, is also evident from national research on the learning outcomes of students. Both Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, students group 6) and Peil.rekenen-mathematics (group 8) show that students in 2023 achieved a comparable level for arithmetic and mathematics as 4 years earlier, so before the corona pandemic.
Decline in Vo
The picture in secondary education is less rosy. In the lower grades of the entire secondary school (from pre-university education to pre-vocational secondary education), we see that student performance has continued to decline year on year since corona. Research shows that secondary school students in the 2023-2024 school year still have a lower skill level than students in the pre-corona school year 2018-2019. This decline is clearly greater for Dutch language than for arithmetic and mathematics. In year 3, the decline compared to pre-corona performance is generally the largest. This concerns the students who were in group 7 at the start of the pandemic.
It is therefore important to also carry out interventions in the last school year of the NP Education for students who need them and at the same time work on a structural approach with the Basic Skills Master Plan and the Recovery Plan.
The declining performance in the lower grades does not directly translate into poorer final exam scores. These are comparable to the figures before corona, as are the success rates. A possible explanation is that more students were retained a year earlier. The fact that students are again achieving good final exam scores despite the situation in lower secondary education shows how important those exams are, as a clear benchmark at the end of secondary education.
Nearly 1.5 million students reached
Mastering basic skills is important for a good start in further education and to be able to participate fully in society. More than 5,100 schools in primary, secondary and secondary special education are now working with the subsidy from the Master Plan. This reached almost 1.5 million students, more than 60 percent of Dutch students.
Some of the schools that receive the subsidy receive support from education coordinators from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. They ensure that their approach is based on insights from science and educational practice. It is important that schools also exchange knowledge and learn from each other.