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“Was that difficult?” The last question that the students of the Virgo Sapiens Institute in Londerzeel receive on Monday does not come from the computer, but from Flemish Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA). Weyts gave the starting signal for the Flemish tests in Londerzeel. The students of the fourth year and second year of secondary school completed an ‘introduction test’. A total of 148,000 students will do so from Monday. Schools, teachers and students can get a taste of the system for the first time. The actual tests will be taken for the first time in April and May of this year.

1. Why are those Flemish tests introduced?

The central tests are part of a strategy to improve the Flemish education quality. “The big difference with existing studies that measure the quality of our education, such as the Pisa tests, is that they only survey a sample every five years,” says Weyts. “Our Flemish tests will be administered annually, to all students, in all schools. They also measure more specifically the knowledge of the final objectives, which is not the case with international tests.” The Flemish tests should thus provide a better picture of the evolution of the educational level in Flanders.

2. What exactly do the tests entail?

These are central tests that will be conducted annually in all Flemish schools. Students will have to participate four times during their school career: in the fourth and sixth year of primary education and in the second and sixth year of secondary education. The rollout will be spread over the next three years: this year the fourth year of primary education and the second year of secondary education will already start working on it, in 2026 the sixth year of primary education will follow and in 2027 the last year of secondary education.

The tests assess the level of the students in two learning domains: mathematics and Dutch. The final objectives serve as a guideline when preparing the questions.

The tests are spread out. A first test moment, which consists of two tests, tests reading comprehension and allows students to solve mathematical problems, during a second moment there are focus tests for mathematics that probe more specific domains, such as geometry or mathematical sets. Each test takes a maximum of fifty minutes. Students take the tests on the computer and depending on their performance, the questions will become easier or more challenging in a later phase of the test.

3. What will happen to the results?

Schools will be able to use a dashboard to compare the results of their own students with those of similar schools and with the Flemish average. The students are classified into five skill levels on that dashboard. In addition, schools will be able to see how well their students have mastered the final objectives. Students then receive an individual sheet and can thus track their own progress over the years.

If a school underperforms, it will be held accountable. In the first place, guidance will follow, but according to Weyts, bad results can also be a reason for early screening: “Sanctions will never be based solely on the Flemish tests, but in case of bad results the alarm bells will go off.”

Conversely, the minister also wants to financially reward schools that perform well: “If we see that a school succeeds in achieving learning gains among its students, we can give them the confidence to have more free access to resources, something that schools have been asking for for some time. to ask.” That system is not yet in force, but the minister wants to put it on the table for the coming government period.